Crematoria
by Jerrath92
Summary: A fiction of what could have happened to Toombs after Riddick imprisoned him in the cage on Crematoria. All Toombs, no Riddick, the way Toombs's story should have concluded. Rated M for language and violence.
1. Chapter 1: Caged In

**WARNING: Rated M for language and violence**

**The Chronicles of Riddick allow the audience to come to their own conclusions, so I thought, well what the hell happened to Toombs? Disregarding the deleted scenes, did the Hellhounds break out and get him or did the other convicts set him loose? This story is dedicated to the possibility of Toombs leading another life after his Merc run and other out-of-the-ordinary events…And played by Nick Chinlund; Toombs is one damn fine character. Also, not every planet and natives to those planets are listed, so, as with all authors, you make some stuff up as you go along, no matter how cheesy it may sound. Some planets sound weird, but I'm better with recent time names anyway. Enjoy!**

_Damn you, Riddick._

Konner Toombs sat huddled with his back to the cage wall while two Hellhounds snarled at him from either side as they had been doing for twelve hours on end. It was imperative that he sit perfectly still, lest they swipe their gray-to-orange scaled paws at him. He was just lucky that they weren't loose right now. The remote extreme planet of Crematoria offered a slam-or prison-to house the galaxy's most lethal convicts. Twice a day the guards released the Hellhounds to terrorize the inmates. Only the fittest convicts managed to evade the hounds and make it into their cells. Otherwise they roamed free in the caverns and amused themselves by quarreling with each other, but not anymore.

He had chased Riddick across three planets with the bounty steepening every day. The Necromongers-fallen humans that sold their souls to the Underverse had tailed him and his four man crew to Crematoria and the guards had been downright pissed off about it. They cut his due bounty and wiped out his crew, even the woman whose back had been broken on the rocks. Now he was the only mercenary to have survived an encounter with the Crematorian guards and Riddick. Though he had managed to save himself from the crossfire, Riddick had imprisoned him in a caged cell to starve to death or be eaten alive if the Hellhounds had enough sense to put their full force into their rampaging. Whether Riddick and the escaped convicts had survived the jagged terrain and made it to the hanger with his ship was unclear to him and now utterly irrelevant. He could have cared less about who reached the hanger first; the guards, Riddick, or the Necromongers. Personally, he promised himself hat he'd leave Riddick be if he escaped the God-forsaken planet. It would take a full cycle for the sun to pass to the other side of Crematoria, but then another half cycle for the freezing temperature to pass on. Any chance of escape would be either across the terrain like Riddick and hope to outrun the sun, staying behind the deathly cold, or blast open the barricaded doors and take the underground passage that came up right inside the hanger. The only problem was that there might not be any ships let once he got there…

He touched the scar and dead skin on the outterside of his right eye. His first battle wound…how many had he gained since then? Too many, but he proudly displayed them on his bare arms. His curled hair was damp over his eyes as he sensed the heat many kilometers above.

That was it; he'd had enough.

"Can anyone hear me? Hello, is anyone there? Help, get me the hell outta here!"

The Hellhound to his left snarled and snapped at him. He kicked at it furiously. "Oh, shut the hell up!"

"They don't like it when you yell at them," said a reapproving voice from the doorway. A woman with neck length golden blonde hair and loose fitting clothes leaned casually against e door frame. Two custom-made knives curved to the left and right by being split down the middle were secured to her belt. "You'd be Toombs, right? Merc that brought in Riddick?"

Toombs nodded, coming forward to rest his head on the bars.

"You know, the others said I should leave you up here, but personally I'm not that cold-hearted. I never did anything wrong; they just caught me to make it look like they were doing something right. I had to grow up fast and I've been here for almost twenty years now. I've formed my own little family here."

"Girl like you don' belong in a slam," Toombs agreed.

"So tell me, Toombs, who fights your battle for you? Because I don't want some whiney-ass coward to babysit, so what's it going to be?"

"I fight my battles, sweetheart. I ain't no coward, just a travelin' bastard who tries to earn a livin'."

"By hunting down escaped convicts?" the woman challenged.

"Well, yeah, but the ones I catch deserve to go back to a slam. And it don' hurt to earn some cash here and there neither if I'm good at huntin, right?"

The woman came to stand in front of his cell. "So what are you going to do if I let you out?"

"Well, I was plannin' on getting' the hell outta here but it seems I gotta wait for a cycle and a half, so while I'm waitin' I'll probably hang around and see the sights. When I make a break for it you're welcome to tag along.'

"Don't mess with me, Toombs," she warned, hazel eyes flashing. "I'm not that kind of girl. You take advantage of my mercy and I'll stick my knives right up your groin."

"Fair enough. Don' worry, baby. No impure thoughts here. I'm just lookin' to get out, same as you. Speakin' of which, why didn' you go with Riddick and gotten out when you had the chance?"

"They were headed for trouble. Two convicts made it, according to security cameras. Necromongers killed the guards and evacuated."

"Lemme guess, one of 'em was Riddick and the other was his girlfriend?"

"Friend," the woman corrected. "More of a sister, but yeah, she made it."

Toombs tapped the locks on the cage door with his index finger. "Well, you gonna lemme out?"

"One more thing; you'd better learn some new skills fast or you won't survive another encounter with a convict. I've seen the way you Mercs fight, pathetic. The best way to learn convict style is to be taught by one-or however many it takes. My family will help you if I ask them to. There's seven of us. A couple of the other cons are friends, but they prefer their own route. IF we help you, you'll owe us. When you leave we come with you, agreed?"

"Agreed. Do you have a code or somethin' to make the deal final?"

"Shaking works just as well as anything."

"Uh-huh, well I can't squeeze my arm through the bars so if you wouldn't mind…"

The woman drew one of her quadruple curved daggers quickly and picked the locks. She whipped the chains free and coiled them into several circles big enough to fit around a body. Then, she opened the cage door to allow Toombs through. He held out his hand and shook her surprisingly smooth one with his own gnarled fingers. She handed him the chains. "Your spoils, sir. You can build your own weapon or keep that one. Anything to help you survive."

"You have a name?" Toombs inquired.

"Nyah, just Nyah. Can't remember my last name, And yours?"

"Konner, the rest you know."

"Do I? What made you choose this life, the path of a Merc?"

Toombs shrugged as he wound the chains around his shoulder. "Desperation, I guess. My family was wiped out so I kinda had to fend for myself. Only survivor of my town, far as I know. Nothin' special to it."

Nyah pointed to the dead skin beside his eye. "And that?"

Toombs heaved a sigh. "Y'know, for a woman like yourself, you ask a lotta questions."

"Let's swap. I'll share mine if you share yours," she offered.

"Alright, fine. I earned it by fightin' the guy who claimed that he owned me. I broke into his room and he sprayed me with somethin' nasty and cut me right there a good six times—then I slit his throat and burnt his body. I was thirteen."

"And how long ago was that?" Nyah inquired.

"Almost twenty-seven years ago. Now it's your turn/"

Nyah turned her back to him and lifted her shirt a good foot from where it met her hips. An "x" was burnt into her skin in the small of her back. "Bounty hunters marked me and I strangled one but the other brought me here. That was twenty years ago. I was almost twelve. Bounties and Mercs are all the same, but I hope you're different, Toombs. I sincerely hope you are."

"I'll try my best to prove it to you, then."

"Trying doesn't help you down here, it kills you."

"It's gotten me to where I am."

"And where's that? In a slam?"

"I'm alive and breathin', ain't I?"

"Perhaps, but not for much longer," said another voice.

Toombs grabbed a fistful of chain but wasn't fast enough. Fifteen guards or so clad in forest green uniforms barred the doorway. The apparent leader was darker and buffer than the others. He smirked crookedly. "We're the replacement guard. Now, what are you inmates doing out of the caverns?"

"He's not an inmate; he's a Merc," Nyah said instantly.

"Was; he's a con now. Things might have been different before but I'm in charge now and I say that he's a con. Back up and put your hands on the wall, both of you."

"Like hell we will," Nyah snapped.

The warden shot a ray of electric blue energy at Nyah and she crumpled, seized by two guards who cuffed her wrists behind her back. Toombs unsheathed one of their guns from its holster and dug it into its owner's temple. "That was a bad move, pal. Put her down."

The warden stared inquisitively at Toombs. "Who the hell are you, Merc?"

"Toombs, asshole."

A second shocker fired upon Toombs. He felt volts pierce his body and his insides wriggled uncomfortably. He went numb and two more guards bound his hands behind his back.

"If only the other Mercs could see the evasive Toombs now, eh? You'd better learn some respect really quick here, Toombs. Jeinken doesn't know mercy."

Toombs bared his teeth. "I'll bet there's a hell of a lotta things that Jeinken don' know."

The guards huffed him and Nyah away, down into the caverns where they unbound and dumped them unprecariously on the stairs. Toombs sat up and rubbed his wrists once they had retreated. Beside him Nyah held a hand to the back of her head.

"C'mere, lemme see it," Toombs offered.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Come _here_." He pulled her in close to him and made her tilt her head towards the ground. A gash dripped blood into her perfect blonde hair. "You got a pretty nasty lookin' cut."

"Archer can fix me up. He's our medic. See, there he is."

Five men were climbing the stairs towards them. They had their own custom-made weapons drawn, eyeing Toombs apprehensively. The tall, bald one with a flaming red mustache pointed a lethal-looking hook-and-crossbow device at him.

"What the hell did you do to her?"

Nyah spread herself in front of Toombs. "Easy, Cyrus. It wasn't him; it was the new guards. Got stuck in an ambush and they hit me. They've got tazers now."

The convict perhaps a centimeter shorter than Cyrus with more admirable sideburns than Toombs's own swore loudly. The dark haired man beside him who was at least three inches shorter fiddled with the dog tag around his neck and muttered, "Shaddup, Dack."

Now that he examined them all closer, Toombs noted how each convict had two tags on the end of a chain.

"This is Toombs, ex-Merc," Nyah announced. "Konner Toombs. We're _all_ going to get him in shape so that he can get us out of here."

Immediately the cons lowered their weapons but still glared at him nonetheless. Nyah introduced them individually by name, origin, years in the slam, and reason for captivity.

"Cyrus Omaro, Zukarai, thirty-two years for robbery and arson. Archer Freil, Platonian, fifteen years for breaking into the minister of Brekatores's personal safe. Spencer Hatchet, Junlerian, twenty-nine years for murder of a Merc. Jim Rhames, Zukarai, thirty years for extortion. And Dackgart V., Crematorain, born into captivity by a mother who stole a military ship. As far as anyone's concerned, he's innocent."

"Nyah Blade," said Cyrus. "Okromun, twenty years for unjust imprisonment."

"Blade?" Toombs repeated.

Nyah patted her daggers fondly. "And what about you, Toombs? Where do you come from?"

"Okrum."

An awkward silence passed between the two. Dack broke it by motioning to Toombs. "We need to get you some tags and a proper weapon, unless you want to keep those chains there."

Toombs adjusted the chains around his shoulder. "I think I'll keep 'em. Reminder of what I owe the girl."

"The girl prefers Nyah."

"Sure, sure," said Toombs. He couldn't' help but find her voice and its sharpness attractive.

"And what do you prefer, Merc?" asked Cyrus.

"Just Toombs, unless you had somethin' else in mind."

Dack grinned, revealing two pointed teeth. "I don't know what they call you but I'm going to go with Kotay."

"What does that mean?"

"Hell if I know. C'mon, we'll set you up."

Toombs counted heads. "Wait, didn' you say there was seven of you in your lil' clan?"

A grin passed around the group as if they were sharing a private joke. Jim answered, "Iligad will meet you when he wants to. He pops up everywhere so if you feel like you're being watched it's probably him. He's a little strange, though."

"Iligad Thorn, only known survivor of a Necromonger attack. Picked up by a Merc ship and sent here," said Nyah.

Cyrus jerked his head at Dack. "You follow him, Toombs. Arch; take a look at her head. Spence, go find McLeese and see about getting some extra supplies for our Merc here."

"Ex-Merc, Cyrus," Nyah corrected as Archer poured a few droplets of water onto her gash.

Dack led Toombs down the stairs to where the caverns opened up into a grand cave at least a kilometer high and half a kilo wide. Smoke billowed out here and there between fissures, always obscuring one cavern or another. The walls were gold and lined with man-made ropes, ladders, and metal staircases. Small crevices every hundred feet or so housed a cage, no doubtedly used to take cover when the guards released the Hellhounds.

"So, when do the guards turn the mongrels loose?" Toombs asked Dack.

"It's never constant. Sometimes it's when you're sleeping and sometimes it's right after lunch. You have to be on your toes down here or you'll end up as breakfast. At least two cons are guaranteed to die a week. Make sure one of 'em's not you, eh?"

"I ain't stupid enough to get caught," Toombs remarked.

"Doesn't matter how smart you are, only how fast. My older brother Deek couldn't make it back to the cages and they got him. Makes no difference to me; he did before I was born. He's part of the reason that I'm here. Bitch that gave birth to me was the other reason. So, how fast are you Kotay?"

"Fast 'nough."

"Let's hope so. Now, follow me down and we'll print some tags out for you. Courtesy of Veno Graadlum. He's blond, but his hands might as well be his eyes with how he gets around. Not part of the family, but one of the few other friends we've made here. No one bothers to mess with us because they know someone will end up pounding their ass. Except for Quenn. Dumbass thinks he's enough to take us all on. He's got a thing for Nyah, though; always trying to impress her. He picks fights and always bets on them. You'd better hope eh doesn't single you out until you're good and ready."

"Why?"

"His cronies will bring you right to him and he'll make you fight. You won't be able to move for weeks."

"Well, I'm stuck here for four and a half months-"

"Just say away from him," Dack advised. "This is our stop. Down we go." He clipped himself onto a rope and dipped his hands into a bucket of water. "Don't hold on too tightly or I'll burn right through your gloves. See you at the bottom."

He leapt out into space, holding onto the rope with one hand and slid down out of sight. Toombs shadowed his movements, leaned back off of the ledge, and stepped away. The thrilling sensations of flying mixed with the fear of landing. Dack hadn't told him how to stop…

Something grabbed him around the middle and he came to a jerking halt upside down. From this view he saw Dack holding onto a line of his rope. "Caught ya."

"I think I left some of my personal items up a few stories," Toombs groaned, kicking his legs helplessly. "Lemme down."

Dack lowered him to his feet and he unhooked himself, rubbing his midrift. "Up here, Kotay. I want you to meet Veno."


	2. Chapter 2: ExMerc

Toombs clambered up the side of the boulder to where Dack stood and followed him into a cloud of steam. They came out in a small cavern on the other side filled with molding tools and pots. A lanky hunched man sat on a stool in the corner. His head perked up as they entered. "Dack?"

"Yeah, it's me. We got a new member in need of tags. You don't mind, do you?"

"Naw, what does he want 'em to say?"

Dack turned to Toombs. "One tag with personal info and one with a symbol. So, your name, birth date, planet, and blood type on one and then-what do you want for the second? Weapon, animal, letter?"

It took less than two seconds to come up with an answer. "Crematoria with the eyes of a Hellhound and a chain wrapped around it."

"Hell, why?" asked Dack, surprised.

"Serves as a reminder; second chance at life. That's what I want on the tag."

"First name?" requested Veno.

"Konner, spelled with a 'k', no middle name. Last name Toombs; T-O-O-M-B-S. November eighteenth 2759 on Okrum. Blood type AB negative."

Veno carved Toombs's information onto a ready tag. He softened the edges and moved on to the next tag.

"What's on your tag?" Toombs whispered to Dack.

"A waterfall, I aim to see one before I die."

"Done," Veno announced. "Here you go, Toombs, welcome to Crematoria."

Toombs accepted the tags as Veno placed them around his neck, eyes facing slightly to the left as he did so. He gave Toombs a smile and returned to molding a pot with his all-seeing hands. Toombs wound the necklace around his finger, watching the tags swing in motion. "Is that it? No big ceremony? No induction?"

Dack raised one shoulder carelessly and cleared his throat, exaggerating the sound, "If you want, welcome to the brethren of the Crematorian slam. Your blood is ours and if hurt befall you, it shall be avenged and all that shit. That better?"

Toombs managed to grin. They said goodbye to Veno and exited the cavern back into the cloud. Dack directed him to the stairs and they began their ascent.

"So what's the typical day for a convict?" Toombs asked.

"Well, you wake up whenever and do whatever. Most people train or educate themselves further but on certain days we send someone up to listen in on the guards. You take your piss at the bottom and you eat only enough to support your metabolism. Too much food slows you down and not enough makes your body give out. You have to maintain water to support you all day without having to use the little inmate's room. Night's when people usually do their business."

"Any kids down here?"

"Last kid was Nyah. Oldest con is Praxis and he's getting slower every day. He's been around for a bout forty years. There hasn't been a marriage or anything since before I was born. When someone dies who made at least one friend they'll be cremated and one of their belongings will be nailed to the wall at the bottom; if he died alone we feed him to the Hounds."

"Has anyone ever killed a Hound?"

"Not that I know of. You have to get 'em when their scales are standing up and that's when they're fiercest. Slim chance of putting a bullet in them, know what I'm saying?"

"There's always a first time," Toombs reasoned.

"Hell, if you brought down a Hound you'd have the loyalty of the almost all the cons."

"Do weapons hold them off?"

"Long distance weapons do, like chains and boomerangs, but knives are pretty much useless against them. Lucky for Him he carries a slingshot; otherwise one of the Hounds would have nailed him last week. Arch is screwed if he gets caught because all he has is a staff with sharpened points. It helped him win a fight and he thinks that he owes it or something."

"Dack, you going to babble all day or you going to shut up and bring him over here to get his supplies?"

"Aw, shove off, Cyrus. He's got for and a half months to get his supplies-"

"He needs all the time he can get for training. You want to him to go in against Quenn the way he is?"

"Okay, we're coming, we're coming. Tell McLeese to just hold onto his briefs."

"You can tell him that yourself."

Toombs felt his tags clink together against his chest. "Who's McLeese?"

"Sort of a smuggler. He gets supplies from somewhere but no one knows. He'll suit you up with everything you need." ON the level above Cyrus and Jim waited impatiently for them. Cyrus jabbed his thumb at a cell. "In there."

Toombs felt the back of his neck prickle. He stood wary and cast a look at Dack. "What the hell is this?"

"It's fine," Dack assured him. "Really, just go in."

"It's okay, Toombs," Nyah called from the opposite end of the cavern. 'Trust me."

He couldn't help it; something about the softness when she spoke to him made him move recklessly forward. Almost instantly the cell door swung shut behind him. He yanked the chain free from his shoulders and cursed, "Son of a bitch, I knew it!"

Nyah spoke to him through the bars. "It's okay, I promise. It's just a test. It challenges your instincts, that's all. Nothing will happen to you."

"We had a deal girl," he growled, facing his back to her.

"And it still stands. You want reassurance, here's my knives. If we were trying to trap you we wouldn't have given you a weapon or tags. It's just to see if you're-special."

"Oh, I'm special all right."

"Tell that to him. Now the lights will go out in there; don't panic. Breathe and think it through. I'll see you in a few minutes."

A black ray stretched over the cell bars and blocked out the golden light. He heard something moving ahead and wound the chain ends around his wrists. Never before had he felt so vulnerable-so frightened. He inhaled through his nose and back stepped so that his spine rubbed against the wall. Now he was less of a target. He heard a growl.

"McLeese?"

"Aye?"

"DO you mind tellin' me what the hell's goin' on?"

"A test. A test you and foresee any abilities that you may or may not have."

"Am I _supposed_ to have abilities?"

"Those who have formed a family within the slam have somehow all managed to exhibit some form of inhuman quality, no matter how effective it may or may not be."

"Couldn't they figure this out on their own and not go through all of this blackout shadow shit?" Toombs demanded angrily.

"The girl asked me to examine you. I fell victim to her power, I'm ashamed to admit. She can be very persuasive with words."

Toombs remembered the reckless, happy feeling when she had instructed him to come inside. And she had asked…for him. She offered her knives. She came to free him from the cage. What were her intentions?"

"How can you tell if I'm like them?"

"Like this."

A single light illuminated McLeese's head, a black crew cut bent towards Toombs. McLeese raised his head to face Toombs. His face was grotesque; his teeth were enlarged, his skin a sickly green color, and his irises were gold. Toombs sensed no threat but that didn't' prevent him from tightening his grip on his chains. And as suddenly as the light had come, it vanished, plunging him into darkness once again.

"You're one of them, Konner. Two of them are your keys to survival; stick close to them. I shall inform them of what I see in you, but you must figure out your ability yourself. When the time comes you will see what it is. Good luck with your training."

The black ray screened down and the cell door opened on its own. Nyah was the first to greet him. Though she spoke casually she couldn't keep the relief out of her voice. "See? Told you it was nothing."

"No," Toombs disagreed. "You told me _nothin'_. How the hell was I supposed to know what you were sendin' me in there to do? Some sorta warnin' wudda been nice!"

"We're not allowed to say. You can't be allowed to expect anything, that's how McLeese does it," Nyah protested. "If I could have, I would have told you."

"Don't gimme that," Toombs snapped at her. "The whole 'I would if I could' shit doesn' work with me, sister. That's how I got this one." He pointed at a jagged scar on his collar bone. "If this is the sorta crap I should expect outta you cons maybe you shouldda left me in the damn cage!"

Nyah grabbed his wrist. "I'm sorry, Toombs. Really, I am."

"Apologies later, you two," said Dack. "Quenn's on his way up. Kotay, disappear and I'll deal with him. Jimmy, you and Cy get my back. Nyah, stick close by."

Jim shoved Toombs back into McLeese's cell and made him hide on the other side of the rock wall. "Don't come out, no matter what."

"Dackgart, you're blocking my way," came a sneering, pompous voice. "That means move or fight. I'll take you on right here and now with Xade and Wreaver."

"Can you handle all four of us?" Nyah challenged.

"You need to save your energy for other things, baby," said Quenn, his words oozing lust. Toombs had to maintain self control as his stomach jostled at these words.

"And you need to look away unless you want me stringing your eyeballs on a bait line for the Hounds, Quenn. I told you before not to look at her like that," Dack threatened.

"I'll look at her however I damn well please, dog."

"You-"

"Dack, no!" Nyah shouted.

"Effing bastard!"

"_Feeding time!_" announced the warden over the com link.

Dack appeared beside Toombs. "Time to move, Kotay. We've gotta make it to the other side. Let's go." He shoved Toombs ahead of him, urging him to run faster. "Run, damn it, they let 'em out already. We've got about fifteen seconds!"

"Get the hell off of me!"

On the opposite wall one of Quenn's cronies was tugging on Nyah's hair while the other pinned her arms to her sides. They sniffed her blonde strands hungrily. One of them flicked his tongue and licked her cheek.

Toombs unlatched a secured rope from the railing, pulled back, and swung free from the stairs before Dack could react. His blood boiled, threatening to make his heart explode. How dare that? How _dare_ they? He put full momentum into his legs and kicked out, knocking one of the cronies clean off of the ledge. He fell with a cry of horror and Toombs heard the sound of a distant as the body split open many feet below. He struck the remaining crony across the face with his chains, leaving a long, thick cut. The con hurried away, throwing fearful glances over shoulder.

Toombs turned Nyah to face him. "Hey, you alright?"

"Toombs!" she cried, pointing to something behind him.

He spun around to face a Hellhound on the staircase above. He placed an arm in front of Nyah protectively and took a single step back. "Oh, shit."

"Kotay, get the hell out of there!"

Dack launched into the open, arms spread wide. He let out a vicious snarl and his teeth lengthened, fingernails contracting. He hooked his claws onto the Hellhound's scales. At once the Hound turned on him instead and locked its jaws around his arm. He dug into his boot for a knife with his free hand and buried it in the Hound's eyes socket. The Hound shook him, thrashing its head about in agony. Toombs lashed out at the Hound with his chains, striking it on its scaly back. Distracted, it released its hold on Dack who clamped onto the railing with both hands, swung up and around, and kicked its side. It rolled sideways and out of sight.

"Get inside, you two. Here comes another one!"

"Dack, get your ass over here," Cyrus spat at him.

"But I'm having fun," Dack protested.

"_Now_, damn it!"

Dack flanked Toombs and Nyah as they shoved through the other convicts to reach the nearest cell. He sprang up over the heads of the bustling and plowed through them on all fours animal-like.

"One's on your heels, move it!" Spence shouted.

Toombs wrapped his arms around Nyah and dived into the cell not a moment too soon. Dack and Archer slammed the door shut and tugged back on a metal rope as the Hellhound arrived at the entangled her leg with his and rolled sideways. Cyrus brought a crude jackhammer down on the paw and smashed one of its toes. He, Dack, Archer, and Spence gave a triumphant war cry as the Hound slunk off to search for a less meal.

"Toombs?"

"Yeah?"

"You can let go of me now."

"Oh, sorry."

Toombs released Nyah's waist and she flipped onto her other side to face him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, why?"

Nyah pressed her knuckles to his face. "You're freezing."

"I feel fine, really. Never felt better."

"Asshole!" Cyrus fumed. He kicked out at Toombs's stomach. "Didn't we tell you to hide? You just exposed yourself to Quenn by killing one of his men. You'll be facing him in half an hour once they've locked up the Hounds. You're not ready and he'll tear you apart."

"Let 'im try," said Dack enthusiastically. "If McLeese saw something in my boy here then he can use that against Quenn. 'Sides, he's got some kick-ass moves himself. A little more slow and brutal than our style, but he's not at total loss. Give him some credit, CY. He's a Merc that does his own fighting."

"_Ex_-Merc, Dack," Nyah added.

"An ex-Merc that's about to get his ass kicked," Cyrus commented.


	3. Chapter 3: An Unfair Bet

"Here he comes," said Cyrus through his teeth.

"It'll be fine," said Nyah behind him.

"You let me do the talking, Toombs."

"Hell, no. I ain't gonna be seen as a coward, Cyrus. I'll talk to him myself," Toombs argued.

"You'll just get yourself into deeper sh-"

"I'm a Merc, man. Getting' outta tight spots is what I do best."

"Cyrus, let him speak for himself," Nyah insisted.

Toombs grinned as he watched Cyrus give in to Nyah's demands. He positioned himself directly in front of her, beside Dack. He turned his grin down to scowl at Quenn coming up the stairs and bulged his muscles to make himself appear more intimidating. A laugh almost escaped him at the sight of Quenn, a poser con.

He was at least two inches shorter than Toombs and not nearly as muscular. His eyes were darkened with charcoal and a fang hung from both ears by a wire stabbed through the lobe. He strutted in front of Xade and Wreaver, but positioned himself between them once they were level with Toombs.

"So," he declared. "You're the one who killed Loch? And who gave Xade the cut?"

"Yeah," Toombs answered confidently.

"Your name, convict."

"Ex-Merc," Toombs corrected. "You mighta heard of me; man who brought in Riddick?"

A look of dawning appeared on Quenn's face. "Toombs? What the hell you doing down here?"

"Riddick."

"Right, enough said. Well, how's your combat style against more than one man at a time, Toombs?"

"I was gonna ask you that."

"A bet. You against me and my boys here," Quenn challenged.

"Hell, how is that fair, jackass?" Dack accused.

"He has to prove himself, Dackgart. Either he faces me now and puts some distance between me and the winnings or I'll take them now. Loser hangs by his ankles for two days in the middle of the cave and hopes that the Hounds can't reach him. Winner earns a kiss from Blade."

The fire inside Toombs sparked and he gave an involuntary growl. Quenn stepped back, distancing himself from Toombs. He raised his eyebrows inquisitively. "Well?"

"That's up to her," Toombs hissed.

"No, it's not."

"You wanna bet/"

"That's what I'm asking you."

"Done," Toombs agreed. Cyrus groaned.

"One hour at the bottom, then. Meet you down there, loser."

Once he was out of earshot Nyah slapped Toombs across the face, leaving his skin tingling. "What the hell did you do that for? You can't beat all three of them."

"You're just upset that he dragged you into it. I just wanna see him and those two idiots with him dangle; I ain't askin' you to follow through. I can take 'em."

"No, you can't. Xade's got the punches, Wreaver's the kicks, and Quenn's the speed. The winner puts the other on his back and grabs his throat. You'll go down in three seconds and I do _not_ want to kiss that dirty bastard Toombs!" Nyah flipped Toombs over backwards and pinned him to the stairwell. "Never saw it coming, did you?"

"Not form you I didn't. I'll be expecting it from them. That kiss is lookin' better an' better for me, ain't it?"

"Oh, shut up. If you lose, me and the guys will have to watch your ass for two days. I have better things to do."

"Like?"

"Not doing that."

"Look, honey, Mercs an' cons both survive for a livin'. Only difference is Mercs are born on motivation an' cons are born on desperation. My motivation's to help you avoid kissin' him."

"How noble of you," said Nyah scornfully, but she looked pleased all the same. "I'll make you a bet, Toombs. If you win I'll kiss you full on the mouth and that's a promise."

Toombs smirked. "You don' think I can win, do you?" he said shrewdly.

"I _know_ you can't, but I'm hoping you will," she shot back.

"So you can kiss me or so you don't have to kiss him?"

"What do you think?"

"Ouch."

"Break it up, lovebirds," Cyrus cut in. "Toombs, we've only got one hour in which to communicate this. The boys and I are going to fill you in on some pointers that may help you stay on your feet for a couple more seconds. Nyah, make yourself scarce; you're a bit of a distraction for our hero here."

Nyah shot Toombs the shadow of a wink and swung herself off the railing to explore the caverns below.

* * *

Toombs tried his best to bear all of the advice the others gave him in mind, but he didn't see where he would apply it or how he would need it. He had his own ideas on how to deal with the over confident cons. He'd take the fight at his own pace by his own rules. There would be some major heart stoppers, but it would be a fight that the slam cons would talk about for years to come. Then maybe Cyrus would get off his back and McLeese would tell him what his ability was. And Nyah would own him.

Somehow Dack had managed to lead him down into the crater while his mind was elsewhere. A crowd of cons had gathered around the ring to watch the fight and were pounding their tin cups in a jumble as a sign of impatience. Quenn, Xade, and Wreaver were waiting for him in the ring looking far too secure. Toombs kept a poker face the whole way over to them, ignoring the jibes from the violent crowd. Obviously, they favored Quenn.

"Now, Kotay-"

"Dack, if you tell me to remember somthin' I'll kill you."

"Actually, I was going to advise that you take your chains off. Praxis might call you on it and give you a penalty. No weapons in the ring. And good luck."

Toombs nodded curtly and stuffed his chains into Dack's' hands. "Just do me a favor, if things get ugly-like if they sneak a weapon in-take their heads off."

"Will do Kotay."

Toombs cast his eyes around for a sign of Nyah among the crowd.

"She's not there," said Spence from behind.

"What?"

"She watches from the first level."

And she was, hanging over the ledge, her eyes fixed on him. She mouthed, "_Be-careful,_" to him. He brought two fingers to his temple and saluted her.

'Will the challenged please enter the ring?" Praxis called.

Toombs huffed his shoulders and stepped down into the heart of the crater.

"Quenn, Xade, and Wreaver challenge Toombs. The rules are as follows; no attempt to kill, no withdrawal, no tie. Get your opponent or opponents on his or their back and put your hands to the throat. Claim your prize and accept your punishment directly after. No exceptions. Proceed."

Xade moved in before Toombs had had a chance to turn and face him. His fist made contact with Toombs's jaw and Toombs staggered back. Instantly Wreaver kicked him in the small of his back and then Quenn clothes lined him. Dazed, he swung his arms out wildly and brought himself onto his feet. His three opponents formed a Tri-star around him. Wiping a trickle of blood from his lip he egged them on with a challenge hand gesture.

"Just you try that again."

Wreaver's foot came out of nowhere and pounded against his stomach. He took a step back and Quenn rushed past him, making him oblivious to Xade closing in. Not until his locked fist swung up and buried itself in his eye did he even notice the convict's presence. This time he dropped to all fours, coughing. "Damn, I shouldn't have said that," he groaned, holding his stomach.

"Get up, Kotay!"

"No, I think you want to stay down," Quenn advised. He grabbed a fistful of Toombs's hair and smashed his face down onto his knee. Xade delivered an uppercut and Wreaver brought the last blow, locking Toombs's leg in with a quick heel jab. Toombs collapsed on one leg. He had to wait for Quenn to make the move…but he hadn't anticipated what happened next. IN perfect order Quenn, Xade, and Wreaver attacked the same weak area in his hip. Something under his skin snapped and his legs gave out. Suddenly he was staring at the rocky ceiling such a long distance above.

The onlookers banged their cups appreciatively against the rock perimeter. Quenn raised his hands in glory while Xade and Wreaver loyally remained humble. Toombs placed a hand gingerly over his shattered rib. Blood dribble into his eyes from a cut over the bridge of his nose.

"Get up, Konner!"

Nyah pleaded to him from just outside the ring. She had come down to support him. There were marks on her face where she'd clutched it with her fingernails. She was on her knees, calling to him. Dack and Jim urged him to get on his feet.

"Come on, get _up!_"

Quenn pressed his foot down on Toombs's chest. "You know what the best part is, Toombs? You have to watch it all."

That was what Toombs had been waiting for. The monster that reacted to harmful words towards Nyah came alive. His hands trembled and he spiraled his legs upward, catching Quenn around the neck. He tossed Quenn over him as if he were weightless and performed a back somersault. Xade and Wreaver were an equal distance apart sprinting at him. He rushed then, arms out wide. He caught both of them by their throats and forced them into the gravel. They sank a couple of inches under his applied weight. Doubling back, he locked arms with Quenn as both fought his hardest to overcome the other. Toombs read the impure intentions on Quenn's face. His hands began to smoke, burning through Quenn's skin.

"Bettin' on her was a bad move," he growled, and slammed Quenn into the earth with a hand on his tensed Adam's apple. The crowd stood in stunned silence. Praxis raised his left hand and announced, "Toombs, winner."

Dack, Cyrus, and Jim applauded and hurried down into the ring to congratulate Toombs. There was much back slapping and hand shaking before the three moved on to see that the losers held their end of the deal. Nyah had a wide smile on her face as she approached him. She shook her head in disbelief. "I don't believe it, they had you."

"They never had me, sweetheart. I just needed one of 'em to say somethin' that would piss me off. Quenn was the lucky winner of an angry ex-Merc I'd say you owe me an apology."

"That wasn't part of the bet."

Nyah stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his. She held herself there for a full five seconds before breaking away. "You win, Toombs."

Slightly stunned, Toombs felt unsteady and swayed. Nyah wrapped an arm around the upper part of his waist and steered him clear of the ring. "Let's have Archer take a look at that rib."

"Who's got my chains?"

"Cyrus does. Come on, lets' go."

"Hey, Toombs, kiss this!"

Toombs spun around and caught a sharpened boomerang across the chest. He sagged against Nyah, feeling something odd hit his bloodstream.

"Quenn, you piece of shit!"

Dack arched his spine and lunged at Quenn, ripping into his shoulder blade with his teeth. A second later he pulled away with a piece of flesh caught on one of his fangs.

Toombs yanked his chains free of Cyrus's shoulder and lassoed them above his head long enough to create a proper swirl. He launched the metal trinkets and they wound around Dack's wrist. He gave an almighty tug and Dack came free from Quenn's shoulder.

"Leave 'im Dack!"

Dack, however, chose to ignore him and pulled at the chains, fighting to get to Quenn who tow other cons were hooking up to a line of wire.

"Dack, that's enough!" Nyah screamed at him. Dack succumbed to her screams and turned to Toombs. "Kotay, you're turning purple." He extended his arms and caught Toombs, lowering him gingerly to the ground. He tore open Toombs's leather vest to expose his skin and the black cut across his chest. "Oh, shit. That boomerang had poison on it."

"Y'know, now that you mention it, I do fell kinda woozy," said Toombs with the failed effort of sarcasm.

"Don't talk Kotay. We'll get help."

"I'll go to the warden and ask for an antidote," Nyah volunteered. Dack sniffed Toombs's wound. "It's Mempha poison, hurry."

"Stay where you are, Nyah. I'll handle this."

A towering man with matted blonde hair and slightly puffy eyes came down to them. He wore braces on his legs and tow long straps over a copper made breast plate. On each strap was a supply of never-ending needles all packed in tightly. His knees wobbled unsteadily as he knelt beside them.

"Konner Toombs?"

"Yeah?" answered Toombs apprehensively.

"Remain still."

"What-?"

"_Still_," the con commanded. He placed a hand over Toombs's mouth and the other upon his wound. Hs face contorted in pain and his hands shook, making Toombs tremble. After a moment he released his grip and dabbed at his nose with his navy blue sleeve.

Toombs sat up, still feeling the broken rib, but the pain of poison had gone. He accepted Dack and Nyah's help to his feet.

"Toombs, this is Iligad Thorn. He absorbs exterior physical pain and turns it into energy to support his legs," Cyrus said.

"It hurts going down, like food being swallowed in the wrong tube," said Iligad with a small smile. "That was some fight you put up there, Toombs."

"Thanks, I guess."

"Have Archer tend to that rib. I'd do it myself, but that's internal and beyond my reach. Take care of yourself." Iligad hobbled off into a thick cloud without another word.

Toombs massaged his bruised side. "Not one much for conversation or stickin' 'round, is he?"

"Nope," Dack and Nyah chorused.


	4. Chapter 4: Abilities

Archer finished off the bandages around Toombs's waist and secured them with a firm know. "That's you all done. Try not to eff yourself up anymore until those bones heal, yeah? Nyah, fix those cuts up while I talk with Cyrus."

Nyah mopped up the dry blood on Toombs's cheek with a slightly damp cloth, shaking her head to herself. "It's a wonder that you can even open your eyes, Toombs."

"Take a lot to put me down," said Toombs proudly.

"That poison had you flat in just a few seconds. Quenn would have thrown the boomerang again if Dack hadn't stepped in."

"What's wrong with him—Dack, I mean. Why does he turn into—whatever he turns in to?"

Nyah placed a sticky orange paste on the cut over Toombs's nose, sighing. "He's got a lot of anger. McLeese told us that his father was a Necromonger and we know they're all part monster. I guess there was a mutation in his genes and it's taken all his life to mature. When I first got here all he could do was make his fingernails grow a centimeter and turn yellow. He was about sixteen. McLeese figures that by the time he's fifty he'll be able to transform into a full beast, whatever that may be. Still, we're lucky to have him. _You're_ lucky to have him."

"I'm a lucky bastard to have all of you. McLeese told me about your persuasion, but he didn't' elaborate on anyone else."

"It's nothing special, really. They're all simple abilities. For example, they reflect our personalities. Spence has a bad habit of getting ambushed by the guards for one reason or another, so he can mold any weapon or object he's carrying into his skin and or camouflage it so that they don't pick it up when they search him. Archer, being the good, kind-hearted person that he is, can put up a force field against the guards when they come for us. Jim has dead-on accuracy in anything and everything he does. Dack told you about his slingshot? He's killed quite a few guards with it. He could aim for any single scale on a Hellhound and strike it from behind bars. Cyrus rebounds any action-call it a copycat or shadow. Whatever someone does he can copy if he wants to, besides those in the family. And then you…I have a hypothesis, but that's it."

"Do tell," Toombs encouraged her.

Nyah rolled her eyes and gave Toombs a playful nudge in the thigh with her elbow. "Well, you're a new addition to the con family. You changed from a Merc just like that; unpredictable and swift to the opposite. I noticed your body temperature earlier—how cold you were. Back in the ring I saw you burn your way right through Quenn's first layer of skin. Extreme cold and heat, I think, depending on your emotions, is your ability. You can produce body heat or a temperature drop when you get worked up."

"Great," said Toombs sardonically. "I give off abnormal body temperatures. That's really somethin' that is."

"It's more than any other human could say. And it can be used as a weapon. If you burn those chains you carry around that'll be one hell of a weapon, don't you think?"

"Yeah, sure." Toombs stood up, brushing off his pants. "Thanks for the paste, stings like hell."

"Toombs…"

"What?" Nyah seemed to be struggling with words. "Why'd you do it? Take the bet, I mean?"

"I dunno Quenn just pissed me off. His arrogant good-for-nothin' ass made me mad," Toombs said. It wasn't lie.

"When he said what?"

She was trying to egg something out of him. He had to come up with a story before she forced him to admit the very thing he was hiding from her. "Well, I'm a part of the family now, ain't I? I feel protective of you, like I'm supposed to. No two-bit whiney son of a bitch is gonna make a move on you, not while I'm here. I got your back, baby."

"Is that so?" Did she sound disappointed?

"Yeah, an' if you 'preciated what I done for you, you'd say thanks an' leave it at that, right?"

"Right."

"'Atta girl." Inwardly he sighed in relief.

"Toombs?"

He faked annoyance and leaned forward with his hands clutching the cell bars. Raising his eyebrow with the dead skin he asked in what he hoped was an impatient tone, "_Yes?_"

"With the Hounds earlier and-and the bet-thanks."

And she meant every word of it.

Toombs's lip shot up in a genuine smile. "All in a day's work, baby." He stepped clear of the railing and grabbed the rope, swinging clear to the other side of the cave. A swooping sensation completely unrelated to his free fall tingled in his stomach.

* * *

Quenn pressed his foot against Toombs's throat with a metal spike at the base. Toombs' groped blindly at his leg, trying to muster the strength to set the pant leg on fire. His eyes slid out of focus and he heard Nyah scream. The pressure left his neck as someone battled with Quenn over him. The air was punctured with the smallest of exhales. Something fell across his legs. He raised his head an inch and opened his eyes. Nyah lay with a metal tube impaling her through her stomach. Her head fell sideways to look at him and she mouthed his name before falling limp.

"Nyah," he choked. HE reached out to feel her cold, motionless hand. A shadow loomed over him and Quenn drove Nyah's four-point daggers down…

"NO!"  
Toombs sat up boltright, gasping in a cold sweat. His eyes cast down over the ledge where he had fallen asleep. Nausea claimed his stomach and he keeled over, vomiting into space. He brought his knees to his chest and buried his hands in his hair. It had been so vivid, so real, so likely to happen…

"Had a nightmare, did you?"

Toombs jerked his head upward. Cyrus was perched on an outcrop above him, a strange expression on his face. Toombs gave a small chuckle, aware of the sweat drenching his goatee.

"Yeah, nightmare."

"About Nyah?" Cyrus guessed shrewdly.

"Kinda. Mostly everyone getting' their asses kicked."

Cyrus didn't' looked convinced. "Funny thing, that. I just dropped in to see where you'd gone and I heard you moaning her name, but even funnier, I can from checking in on her two levels up and she seemed to be having a nightmare too; moaning _your_ name. Now why do you suppose that is?"

"Beats me," said Toombs innocently. His heart was racing. She had been dreaming about him? He felt a jolt somewhere around his midsection.

"Oh, I will," Cyrus growled with a hint of a threat.

"What?"

"There's no room down here Toombs. Get it in your Merc head that she is off limits. I know your kind, you Mercs don't change. When we out this place you'll leave the boys and me out there to rot and you'll take advantage of her. I'm going to give you one warning; stay away from her or I'll do Quenn a favor and slit your throat for you. Got it?"

"What the hell Cyrus?"

"You heard me."

"_Feeding time!_"

Cyrus pulled back, disappearing into the upper levels. Toombs hesitated, confused. It wasn't' until he saw Archer hurrying along the staircase on the opposite side that he remembered that he should be running. He scanned the walls for the nearest cage—one level up directly and the Hounds were already four levels down, just two above him. The only way he'd make it would be to climb the rock straight up. He unstrung the chains and twirled them for a brief moment before launching them straight up to latch around a bar. He wrapped his ankles around the chain and pulled himself up hand over hand. Muscles straining, he finally reached the ledge where Cyrus had been. The Hounds had caught a convict diagonally up to the left. He licked his lips nervously.

"Kotay, where are you?"

It would give him away if he answered.

"Toombs!" Nyah shouted for him. He saw her on the level above behind bars. Archer sat on the floor beside her, watching him in anticipation. Cyrus slipped into the cell and slammed the door shut. "Open that door back up, Cyrus, Toombs isn't back yet!"

"He won't make it to us."

"You keep that damn door open!"

Cyrus stepped aside to allow Nyah to open the door. She motioned for him. "Come _on!_"

Toombs shook his head at her.

"Toombs!"

The Hounds found him. One came at him from all sides, discluding the wall behind him. They moved with caution, noting the last time they had encountered a convict who fought back. Keeping his breathing steady, Toombs undid the chains from the metal bar and let them spread to their full length. He needed something to trigger the extreme body temperature inside of him. Nothing came to mind.

"Run, Toombs!"

"There ain't no runnin' from where I'm standin', baby."

Nyah moved fast, but Cyrus was quicker. He tackled her mid-jump and forced her to the ground. "Don't, Nyah!" She bit his wrist but he refused to release her. Her screams echoed in the ever-extending caverns.

Her screams—just like in his dream…

Toombs twirled the chains with both hands above his head. The metal froze at his touch. His speed picked up, the chains spun faster, now a blur. The Hellhound to his right sprang first. He sliced down with the chains, splitting its nose clean in half. The second Hound tried a different approach and came at him with an upward leap. He dropped to his knees and rolled sideways. The Hound collided with the wall and he grabbed its tail. Its fiery scales shattered at his touch and it howled in agony.

"Toombs, your left!" Spence warned.

_Damn it._

Toombs reeled himself over the ledge. He was stopped by a platform slightly farther out than the one he dropped from and landed painfully on his injured side. The pain blinded him as his rib broke free of its bandages. From above the last Hound marked him and crouched low for its attack. It pounced but out of nowhere it was thrown off course by Dack who rammed his shoulder into its side.

"Move, Kotay!"

The Hound's tail whipped around and knocked Dack into space. He caught the wires from which Quenn, Xade, and Wreaver hung with his shins. Someone hooked their arms under Toombs's armpits and dragged him backward. He had but barely begun to investigate who held him when he caught sight of the Hound rebounding.

"Watchit!"

A con clad in black from head to foot landed with a force that shuddered the entire platform in front of him. He swiped at the Hound and roared, "Get your ass up here, Dackgart!"

Toombs recognized that voice. "McLeese?" On the parallel wall Toombs saw Dack _running up the wall on all fours._ He changed course and sprinted sideways along the circumference. Once he reached them he took a stance beside McLeese, ready for the next Hound to approach.

"What's the damage, Doc?" he said to the con that held onto Toombs. A hand touched his swollen rib.

"He broke it again. You just can't stay out of trouble, can you, Toombs?" said Iligad accusingly.

"Not-my-fault," Toombs said heavily. It caused him great pain to move let alone speak.

"Oh, sure. You fell asleep nowhere near a cell and had to jump off a cliff to avoid being eaten because of it," said Dack skeptically. "Not your fault my ass."

"Shut up D-ow!"

"Stop talking," said McLeese. Toombs obeyed gratefully.

A buzzer sounded high above them. Dack and McLeese lowered their stances as the Hounds retreated. McLeese faced Toombs with his golden eyes and protruding teeth. He pressed his knuckles into Toombs's cracked rib. Toombs's legs locked out. He seized up and a shiver ran through him as he restrained the urge to scream. Iligad kept his arms at bay. "Easy, easy."

McLeese withdrew his hand and patted Toombs's arm. "The bone was cutting into your skin. I moved it over so it'll seal in the right direction."

Toombs gave the slightest nod, thinking darkly to himself, _It would have been nice knowing that_ before_ you attacked my damned rib._

"You need to step up your game, son. Someone can't protect you every time they let the Hounds out. Consider this your one free-bee because me and Iligad _never_ come out of a cell for anyone during feeding time. You won't tell anyone that we broke our tradition, understand? It cost Iligad enough to get down here to you and I had to knock Jim out so that he wouldn't see me coming down to get you. You take care of yourself from now on." McLeese must have take Toombs's silence for understanding, for he grabbed Iligad's arm and shot upward out of sight.

It must have been just moments later that Nyah, Cyrus, and Spence came down to them. Cyrus looked disapprovingly at Dack. "Saved his ass again, did you?"

"He was doing fine watching his own ass right up until he hit that platform," Dack said modestly.

Nyah rushed over to Toombs and ran her hands up and down his arms and legs, feeling for broken bones. "Are you okay?"

Holding his breath, Toombs muttered, "Yeah."

Nyah slapped him across the face. "That's the third time you could have been killed, you stupid bastard!" She reached under his arm to check his bandages and he cut her arm back with his hand.

"Don't-"

"Did you break it again?" she demanded sharply and dangerously.

"Yeah, just a little."

"Ugh, I _hate_ you!"

"Hate you too," he whispered, sparing her his smile. Dack took Toombs's legs and instructed Spence to grab his arms. "Cy, you and Nyah hold up his midsection. We'll put him in that cell by McLeese. And that's where you'll stay until you can learn not to fall asleep where there aren't any cells, right Kotay?"

Toombs made a noise in his throat.

"Archer is going to kill you," Cyrus said to him.

"You-wish," Toombs retorted.

**Please Review, I'd like to know what you think so far.**


	5. Chapter 5: A Lucky Bastard

Toombs groaned as the word spread about his battle with the Hounds and how very venerable he was to an attack from Quenn's men if there wasn't a guard stationed outside of his cell. Pretending that he knew nothing about Toombs's injury up to that point, McLeese ordered someone to stand watch close by his cell just in case the other convicts moved in to finish him off. Archer had only just informed him that it had been one whole day, a fifty tow hour period, since Nyah had let him out of the cage upstairs. Cyrus took his watch grudgingly, passing by so often that Toombs refused to sleep in case he decided to mount a surprise attack. He kept his chains ready, just in case. Dack seemed to notice and dismissed Cyrus to take over for him.

It was Nyah who brought his breakfast of energy rope and bread with tea. She ate her own breakfast across from him, watching him the whole while. Finally, she moved in closer and struck up a fact that caught Toombs off guard.

"Cyrus told me that you had a nightmare about me."

"He what?" Toombs sat up quickly and felt his ribs shout out in protest. Nyah helped him sit back down gingerly with his back to the rock wall.

"It's okay, I'm not mad or anything. But you can tell me what it was about, I promise I won't laugh."

"It's not you laughing that I'm worried about, but I'm fine," Toombs said stubbornly.

Nyah's lip pouted. "Come on, you've got nothing better to do."

There was too much truth in the fact to ignore it, but Toombs kept to his previous story ever so slightly. "Just picked up from no where. Happened real fast, Quenn stuck you with a metal tube an' that was that."

If she was disheartened by the lack of emotion in his voice, she didn't show it. "Well," she said airily, "I'd rather be killed by him than raped by him."

"I'd prefer for neither of 'em to happen," said Toombs before he could stop himself. The expression on Nyah's face at his words was compensation for his mistake. "Dack told me 'bout all that 'your blood is mine' crap, so I'm stuck protectin' you."

"Not right now you aren't," she reasoned.

"I know, and I _hate_ it. I can't move a damn thing."

"Well, you've been running your mouth for a long time, so don't tell me cant' move a damn thing."

"Hell, I can't stay like this, damn it! Quenn gets loose in less than two days and what you wanna bet he'll be comin' for my blood? Or worse, comin' for you? I gotta heal and unless Iligad can find some way to absorb interior pain, I'm shit outta luck. I ain't gonna just sit on my ass while he sends his cronies after you. I gotta-ow!"

"You're not going anywhere," said Nyah firmly. "I'll tell you what I'll do; I'll go to McLeese and ask him if there's any possibility that Iligad can heal you. Meanwhile, you sit tight and wait for me."

"As if I have another option," Toombs grumbled.

Nyah took his hand and gave it a quick squeeze. She stood halfway up but came back down to her knees and planted a swift kiss on his cheek. "I'll be back. Jim, your watch!"

Across the cave Toombs saw Cyrus give him a death glare and knew what sort of punishment was in store for him come his next watch.

*******************

The lanterns and electric lights dimmed for the twenty-six hour night. Nyah still hadn't returned, which left Toombs slightly on edge. He dislodged one of the metal hooks from the chains and tried to inconspicuously carve sharp edges onto it. The noise in the caverns dropped and Cyrus took over for Spence. He took his time, waiting until he was sure that there would be no one to bear witness. He towered over Toombs in the shadow of the cave while the other inmates slept on, unaware of the murder about to occur. Cyrus's hand gripped the weapon he had threatened Toombs with when they first met.

Toombs held the metal detachment against his stomach as he looked up into Cyrus's spiteful face. "You gonna kill me, Cyrus?"

Cyrus positioned his hell over Toombs's rib. "Yes." HE drove his hell home, powered by unconditional hatred. Toombs gasped inwardly and went rigid. He snarled and drove the piece of chain straight up between Cyrus's legs, missing the sensitive area by mere centimeters. Cyrus bent double and Toombs brought him down with his legs. He dove onto Cyrus, knocking his crossbow-hook aside. He slammed Cyrus's head down into the rock repeatedly. "Bastard!"

Cyrus gained a lucky shot to Toombs's stomach that sent him sideways. He closed his hands around Toombs's throat, spitting madly. His thumbs blocked the air from traveling into Toombs's lungs. Toombs directed his energy into his fingertips that were cobalt blue around Cyrus's wrists. He twisted slightly to the right, feinted, and hurtled Cyrus bodily over the railing. Leaning on his left shoulder he peered over the side. Cyrus had caught onto a hand hold by his fingernails.

Toombs could break his hold and send him plummeting to his death, but there would be questions and a broken heart-Nyah's. He couldn't bear to hear her scream again. He couldn't hurt her.

"Gimme your hand, Cyrus," he coughed, hanging his right arm down.

"What the hell for, Merc?" Cyrus spat.

"If you fall it'll destroy her. I ain't gonna let that happen. Now gimme your damn hand."

Cyrus gave Toombs the middle finger with his unoccupied hand.

"Fine, you son of a bitch." Toombs clawed at Cyrus's hand, grasped it, and propelled him off to the side before letting go. He came crashing down on the stairs. "First and only time I save your ass, Zamorian."

Toombs let his head drop onto the ledge, exhausted. He tasted his ribs and concluded gratefully that there were no further breaks. How long he lay there, exposed to further attack, he had no idea. At some point he must have passed out because the next thing he knew Nyah and Dack were leaning over him.

"Kotay, c'mon, wake up. Wake u-there we go. What happened here? Who did this?"

_That bastard Cyrus, your friend._ "I dunno, I think it was one of Quenn's. Threw Cyrus over the edge and came after me. Fought back best I could and someone pulled him off of me. Then I passed out. Cyrus okay?"

'Yeah, Archer's taking care of him. Con that came after you beat his face up pretty bad and stabbed him in the crotch area. Just missed the part where no man ever wants to be stabbed."

Nyah's lip trembled as she overlooked his rib.

"You too your time, didn't you? Nice to see you, baby."

"It's my fault. I shouldn't' have left you. If I'd have stayed-"

"Don' you dare blame yourself. No harm, no foul. Cyrus and I are both still alive, ain't we?"

"Barely," Dack commented, feeling Toombs's tender bruised skin. "If this thing had split a third time…"

Down the staircase Jim and Spence were supporting Cyrus between them. His left ankle had blown up to golf ball size and the entire inside of his pant legs was covered in blood. He must have slipped in and out of consciousness, not unlike Toombs. His eyes were groggily half open.

"Looks like someone went for the family jewels," said Dack, scowling. "When I find out who did this I'll-"

"If you find out, genius," Nyah corrected. "Toombs I went to McLeese, but he said it's too risky for Iligad to attempt any interior healing. I'm really sorry."

"Expected," Toombs growled. "I'll just have to heal on my own and that would happen a hell of a lot quicker if I didn't have someone trying to kill me every eight hours." He almost gave himself away by flickering his eyes at Cyrus. When he came back to look at Nyah he caught an expression on Dack's face that he didn't like. Had he seen? Did he know? He prayed to God that Dack remained oblivious.

* * *

Four and a quarter months into his slam confinement, Toombs had the nasty feeling that Dack knew more than he was telling. With Toombs's healing rib came the danger of avoiding Quenn who sought out an opportunity to ambush him every half day. In the past week he had lessened his attempts on account of three of his men being killed and Wreaver losing an eye and a couple of fingers. Dack took part in two killings, Archer and Nyah the other, and by a lucky chance, Veno had defended Toombs in passing as Wreaver made his way up the staircase. Veno took a hot poker to his eye and severed off his fingers.

Toombs's rib was now fully healed, as was Cyrus's broken ankle. Unbeknownst to their battle, McLeese ordered that the two be placed in the same cell for protection while they were out of the running. With a little less than a few days until breakout time, Toombs began to brainstorm ideas on how to outsmart the guards. Despite their abilities and lethal hand-made weapons, the group was no match for twenty guards with hand grenades, tazers, ray guns, and rocket launchers. Midway through a restless night Toombs sat on the ledge outside his cell with his legs dangling over. He stirred his tea aimlessly with his finger in deep thought. Dack took up a seat beside him, snacking loudly on overcooked bread. He looked sideways at Toombs and gave him a small kick in the calf.

"Hey, you awake there?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I've been meaning to ask you something-about that attack on you and Cyrus couple months ago. Remember?"

Toombs instantly became alert, intent on not letting himself betray any sign that Dack may pick up. "As if I could forget. What 'bout it?" he asked casually with his finger still in his cup.

"Well, I've been trying to figure out which of Quenn's bastards was the guilty one. When I helped clean Cyrus's wound, I came across a sharpened piece of metal in that area. I took a closer look at it and it looks like it came from your chain. Funny, innet?"

"Hilarious," said Toombs, sipping his tea with a very dry mouth.

"Look, Kotay, you can tell me what happened," said Dack with a friendly smile. "You can trust me. We're family, aren't we?"

"Sure we are."

"Well? What happened?"

As gently as he could, Toombs said, "I can't."

"Why not?" Dack demanded/

"Because it puts more than just my life in jeopardy if I do. I can't tell anyone, not even you. I trust you, but this is something no one can know. I'm sorry."

"Bullshit!" Dack thundered.

He and Toombs leapt to their feet simultaneously. They stared each other down to the rhythm of Toombs's cup clinking on each ledge on the way down from where he had dropped it at Dack's' raised voice. Toombs let his chain out to its full extent and Dack's teeth and fingernails reached danger point.

"Careful, Dack," Toombs warned.

"You-don't-tell-me-careful," Dack snarled. "You're going to tell me _exactly_ what happened."

"Like hell I am."

Dack pounced on Toombs's chain and tangled it around its owner's neck in a trice. He shook Toombs forcefully and smacked him hard enough across the face to cut his skin with one or two fingernails and draw blood. "Who was it?" he yelled, flaying spit everywhere.  
"I-can't-tell-you," Toombs choked.

"Who, damn it?"

Toombs used one hand to point at the spot where he knew Nyah had taken up sleeping for the night. "She can't know, Dack. It would tear her apart."

"Who attacked you, Konner?"

It was the first time Dack had used his real name. Toombs gaped, caught off guard. "It-it was him," he stuttered.

"Him? Who the hell is-wait, him. _Him?_ Cyrus?"

Toombs growled, "Maybe."

Dack flung Toombs aside where he hit the cell bars with a loud clang, roaring, "Cyrus!"

**I really want to keep posting chapters tonight, but I'm babysitting tomorrow and have to go to early service, so this is it for now. Hopefully tomorrow there will be another chapter and I also hope to finish the actual writing of the book by then as well. As always, please R&R. Night all!**


	6. Chapter 6: A Break in the Family

The cave awakened with Dack's cries and Cyrus sat up in alarm one level below. His hand jumped to his crossbow, but when he saw Dack coming down to him, he relaxed. Toombs poked his head over the ledge, unwinding the chains from his throat.

"What's wrong, Dack?"

"You tried to kill him! You bastard!"

Dack hooked his claws onto the base of Cyrus's neck and dangled him out over the open. "What the hell did you think you were doing? He's one of us and you were going to kill him!"

"His kind don't change Dackgart. He'll always be a Merc. He'll sell you out and send you to hell."

"Shut up!" Dack threatened to release Cyrus.

"Dack, that's enough," Toombs intervened. "Put him down. If he were meant to die I'd have dropped him when he jumped me. It's okay, just put him down."

"Not happening, Kotay. If he wants to play dirty that's fine with me. I can be just as heartless."

"Put me down, Dackgart," Cyrus said through bared teeth.

"Shove it up your ass, Cyrus," Dack snapped back.

"You've got nerve talking to me like that. Don't forget who raised you, boy."

"I'll bitch at you all I want."

"Let go of me!"

Dack's face pulled back to expose his fangs. "What?"

"Let me go."

"Remember that _you_ said it when you hit the bottom." Dack let Cyrus's throat go and he slipped into the open nothingness. Toombs launched his chains at an alarming speed and they doubled in length in icy blue and fiery red before coiling around Cyrus's ankle in midair. He dug his heels into the rock and leaned back to support Cyrus's weight. Once Cyrus hit the full length of the chains he gave a strangled cry and let loose on a stream of swearwords at Dack who glowered at Toombs.

"Why the hell did you catch him?" he said furiously.

"Why the hell did _you_ drop him?" Toombs shot back.

"He'd have deserved that fall, Kotay."

"No, he wouldn't have. You two have known each other for too long for you to just get rid of him like that. If you've known him long enough for him to raise you then he's as good as a foster parent and the closest you'll ever get to one."

"He should know better than to try and assassinate someone who we brought into the family. Nyah would've been destroyed if he killed you."

"But if I hadn't have caught him-"

"He's _jealous_, you moron. Don't you see it? Nyah watches out for you and sticks with you like she never did to Cyrus. We all know that he's had a soft spot for her since she came and now that you've tampered with the relationship he only wishes he had with her he's gone off his rocker to try and kill you. He deserves _no_ sympathy. He took us in and taught us to fend for each other and not let anything come in between us. Now you see just how much the bastard sets by his own rules. Now let him drop. If he's meant to survive he'll grab onto something or land on something else before he hits the bottom."

"It ain't jealous, Dack," Toombs defended, unaware of why he was going to such lengths to do so. "It's protectiveness. He thinks I'll leave you all out there once we reach the hanger. He was just tryin' to protect you all against me, the ex-Merc he doesn't fully understand. His heart's in the right place…but his head's up his _fat ass!_" He yelled this down the length of the chains so that it carried to Cyrus at the bottom. "If I was plannin' on splittin' after we got past the guards why would I be bustin' my ass trying' to save yours all the time? I ain't gonna double-cross you unless you do anythin' else that pisses me off. If you wanna get outta this hellhole, I suggest you keep it together, Omaro, 'cause I'm the only chance you've got."

"_Toombs!_"

"Aw, shit," Toombs murmured under his breath. Still holding strongly onto Cyrus's lifeline, he glanced over his shoulder to grin feebly at Nyah.

"What the hell are you _doing?_" she said shrilly.

"Um, fishing," said Toombs truthfully.

Nyah's nostrils flared. "Is this some sick game? Are you trying to kill him?"

"No-"

"Yes, you are!"

"Nyah, calm down," Dack called from across the way. "It's a long story that no one's got time for, but it ends with Kotay catching Cy. It's not what it looks like."

Nyah's eyes were hopeful. "That right?"

"You trust me right, baby? He fell, I caught him and I ain't reeled him in case I drop him. Been waitin' for some help. That's it, I swear I wasn' tryin' to kill him or nothin'. You know I wouldn't' hurt you, right?"

"I know that."

"Help him pull Cy up, Nyah. I'll be right over in a sec," Dack said. Things would have gone smoothly if Cyrus didn't let loose on Toombs as soon as they had hauled him up. He refused any help and foam gathered at the corners of his mouth when he saw Nyah.

"Bastards!" he spat as Dack joined them. "I didn't ask for any of your damned help. Piss off!"

Dack narrowed his eyes grimly. "Okay, so we lied, Nyah. Remember that day where Kotay and Cy were attacked by one of Quenn's thugs? Well, truth is, Cy tried to kill Kotay but my boy here fought back. Nearly killed him in self defense, but he showed the damn asshole mercy he didn't deserve. I only just found out, so I went off on Cy a bit and-"

"A bit my underappreciated backstabbed ass!" Cyrus snarled. "You'd choose his side over mine, you traitor! Well, if that's how its' going to be then we're splitting up here and now. Congratulations, Crematorian, you've just broken up the family. Whoever gets to the hanger first, then?"

"Don't you do it, Cyrus," Dack warned, his face the image of seriousness. "You can't break us up."

"Nyah," said Cyrus in a commanding voice.

"Hell, Cyrus, don' make her choose," Toombs pleaded. "It'll just tear her up more. You're breakin' her here."

"It's not your job to decide anything for her!"

"It's ain't yours neither!"

"You'll end up alone, Cyrus," Dack said quietly. "McLeese and Iligad are already with Konner and you know how I stand. The others—Jimmy, Spence, and Arch,-they'll side with us because they trust in a strong group's abilities to gain freedom rather than one man's dumbass stubbornness and inability to grow up and put his feeling aside. You're only hurting yourself by breaking us up. Knowing that, you still want to make everyone choose sides?"

"Nyah, would you stand with me?" Cyrus asked, almost begging.

"Cyrus, please…" Nyah beseeched him.

"There ain't no sides, Cyrus," Toombs declared. "I don' give a rat's ass if you trust me or not. You ain't gonna split up this family over your inability to grow up and act your age. I'll get you all out to the hanger and off of this planet and then I'll be on my way. Gone, for good. You'll never hear from me again. Until then, suck it up." Toombs wrapped an arm comfortingly around Nyah's quaking shoulders. "I won' do nothin' that'll hurt her, hear me? And if you care about her, you won' force her to choose between family and you."

A bell clanged high above them.

"Shit," Dack cursed.

"What? What's the bell mean?" Toombs questioned.

"Con extraction," said Dack. "They capture as many as five con's and put them in detention in the Hellhound room but they torture them for information about any escapes the rest of us are planning. Luckily, Jimmy helped Cyrus and McLeese and I build a shaft where we can hide. Problem is, opening's on the second story…and we're on the fifth."

"How many guards?"

"Eighteen. We'd better get moving. Split up. Kotay, you and Nyah with me. Let's hope we can outrun them."

Two levels gained with one remaining and Toombs felt a sudden prick in the back of his neck. Almost instinctive, a warning. He spun around. Nyah wasn't there. His heart stopped and he fell behind while Dack raced on, oblivious to the fact that there was no one following him.

Where the hell could she have gone in two minutes? How could she just disappear?

Then he heard her scream. Cold, shuddering, and pleading-for him. She needed him. They had her.

He flew back down one level and veered right into a small cavern. Just inside were four guards. One had his back directly to him while two others pinned Nyah's body down. The fourth was leaning over her with greed written on his face. He was going to rape her.

Toombs didn't even go for his chains. He arched his stomach and let out a blood-curdling scream. A replica of his body bulldozed into the guards and knocked them clean off their feet before evaporating. Toombs wielded a ball of fire and an icicle and launched himself into the fray. He decapitated the guard nearest him with a fluid slash through the neck and blasted a flaming hole in the next's face. The combined elements surged through the third's stomach, leaving the one who would have committed the crime.

"You get back, convict," the guard authorized.

Toombs advanced on him, dry of all mercy. His fists were shaking wildly with every step. The rock beneath him melted when it came into contact with his boots. He had the guard trapped and bared his teeth. Spiraling ice and flame around his fists, he drove it clean through the guard's heaving stomach. He kicked the corpse aside and wiped the half frozen, half crisped blood from his hand off on the deceased's pants. His keen ears picked up the sound of someone creeping by. He spun around. A guard was fleeing and there was no doubting that stride. He had seen Toombs kill the guards.

Toombs cradles Nyah, checking her pulse. She shuddered at his touch and suddenly fought him.

"Nyah, it's me! Calm down!" Upon hearing his voice Nyah blindly reached for him. Her hands found his neck and she seized him in a full body embrace, shivering. Toombs ran his hands soothingly over her back. "I've got you, baby. I'm here."

"You came-for me."

"I always will," he promised.

"Are you two lovebirds going to just stand there or are you going to follow me?" McLeese had come out once again to Toombs's aid.

Toombs shifted Nyah to his back and tailed McLeese. He heard the noises of guards extracting the cons below and quickened his pace. McLeese stopped him at the end of the stairs. "Get in and hold her on top of you. It's a slide thirty feet down. Go, go!"

Holding Nyah on his chest Toombs stuck his legs in the chute and slid down. He kept one leg slightly bent to create friction. In seconds the chute leveled out and he gradually came to a halt in a glowing blue underground. Dack, Cyrus, Spence, Jim, Archer, Iligad, and Veno were already waiting for him. Toombs handed Nyah off to Jim as Dack helped him stand up in the sloping room.

"Where the hell did you go? And how'd you find your way in?"

"Nyah told me. But when we were followin' you I turned 'round and she wasn' there. I heard her screamin' and I found her just 'bout to be raped. I killed the guards."

"How many?" asked Spence.

"Four. And there's a problem; a fifth one saw me. He'll send the other guards to look for me. Now what do you suppose will happen then? I'm screwed."

"And you didn't want to listen to me," Cyrus said darkly to Dack. "I told you he'd land us in deep shit, didn't I?"

"Not now, Cyrus," Jim snapped.

"What does that mean for us, then?" asked Archer.

Toombs thought of the full day still to come before the cycle allowed an opening. If he could last for that long…it just might work,

"When they start lookin' for me and take me up, don' let her come after me. If they ever bring me down to tempt you all, keep her out of sight. I don' wanna let 'em see me use my ability, or they'll find some way to back fire it on me. I'll save it for when I need it. You won' hear from me for a while, but just so we're clear, we're still jumpin' ship of this place. That's a promise."


	7. Chapter 7: Lights Out

He felt her head in his lap and her fingers intertwined with his. It must have been five hours later. He had found sleep shortly after swearing to go through with the original plan and she must have curled up beside him. He rested his free hand on her shoulder and yawned, squinting around. Besides food and water supplies, the underground was empty of anything useful to rest on. Due to lack of available space the others had kipped side by side around the wall perimeter. Dack twitched sharply in his sleep to Toombs's right. At rest he could have passed for normal, but when these eyes were open he was nothing short of an animal. Perhaps he liked it that way.

In her sleep Nyah twitched and squeezed Toombs's hand tighter, drawing it closer to her chin. He stroked her hair tenderly, running his fingers through her silky blonde strands. She smiled unconsciously and Toombs cursed himself for the pain he was about to cause her, but he was only doing it _for_ her. So why the hell was this all screwed up? His hand clenched in frustration.

"Toombs?"

"Right here, baby."

Nyah sat up, still holding his hand. "You wouldn't leave me, would you?"

_Damn, she was accurate._

"Would you?"

"No."

"You swear?"

"Yes."

"Why wouldn't you leave?" she asked softly.

Great, she had him cornered. She was going to weasel the truth out of him, but he had to hold it in. She couldn't know, for her own safety.

"We're family, ain't we? You took me in and I protect you. It's fair; it's part of the deal and it's what family does."

"Is that the only reason?"

_Aw, shit._ How was he supposed to look her in the eye and lie? "Yeah, why?"

Nyah moved an inch closer to his face. "Are you sure?"

"Ye-ah…"

"You wouldn't lie to me, would you?"

_Son of a-_"Not unless it was protect you."

She couldn't have been a foot away. "And how protective do you feel, Toombs? What do you feel?"

_Desire, fear, anticipation…_"A draft," his mouth had gone very dry, "and um-"

Her lips touched his gingerly. He froze, wanting to hold her but refusing to give in. She was so tender and he desired nothing more than to give her an honest response. His free had almost reached up to caress her neck, but he kept a restraint on it. She used her free had to cup his jaw and bring him in closer. She placed their conjoined hands over his heart. Pulling away only a millimeter, she whispered against his lips, "What do you feel?"

She left him no time to respond, seizing his mouth once again. There was no doubt that she was waiting for him to respond to her affections, but how, _how_ could he give it to her?

A roar split, the caverns. Toombs and Nyah broke apart by mouths and hands. Dack, Spence, Jim, Archer, Iligad, and Veno sat upright in alarm. Cyrus was on his feet, pointing at Toombs insanely with a terrible deadly fire in his eyes. "You bastard!" His weapon was out, loaded and ready.

On instinct Toombs pushed Nyah off of him and blocked her from view. "Cyrus, whatever this is, out take it out on me, not her."

"That's what I'm aiming for."

"Cyrus, you pull that trigger and I'll kill you," Dack warned.

"I'm willing to risk it."

Cyrus fired and Toombs stumbled, holding his hand to the hook lodged right above his heart. Cyrus reeled in the hook, dragging Toombs off of his feet to slam face first into the ground. He drew a hidden knife and plunged it down…

Nyah sliced through Cyrus's hand, taking a strip of his flesh with her. "No, Cyrus!"

He lunged for her, trapping her waist in one arm. She screamed…and Toombs's anger was triggered. He knocked Cyrus's legs out from him, summoning an icicle to drive into Cyrus's skull. He felt Nyah's hands on his face.

"Toombs, look at me! Look at me!" Despite himself, he obeyed. He locked eyes, calming at her touch. "It's alright, I'm fine. That's enough."

High above them Toombs heard the guards calling his name. Drained, and with the hook still buried in his skin, he steered Nyah into Dack's hands. Without a backward glance he mounted the winding ladder and climbed. He found that concentrating on the shouts above rather than the screams below kept him focused on his motive. As long as he didn't think of her, he couldn't hear her. He slid out of the funnel, tossing his chains back down to disarm himself-all the more reason not to be tempted to fight back.

"We know you're here, Toombs! Come out, Merc!"

Toombs whistled through his teeth at the group of guards across the level. "Lookin' for me?"

"We've got him! Bring him up!"

Waiting patiently for his abductors to arrive, Toombs placed his hands on top of his head in surrender, aware of Cyrus's hook exposing his weakness. He allowed the guards to search him and place him in full body chains. Willingly, he followed them through the passage that convicts were forbidden to take. Jeinken was waiting for him, standing over the mutilated corpses of his men. "You-did-this." It was a statement.

"Yeah," Toombs answered casually.

"You're about to feel very sorry Merc."

Toombs had figured as much. He braced himself for the punch that Jeinken delivered to his unprotected stomach. The next punch came unexpectedly to the hook half buried in his skin. He drew in breath quickly and bent double, choking.

"Fight back, Toombs!"

In opposition to his request Toombs sank on to his knees, hugging an arm over his exposed wound. He held his silence as the threatening splintered whip came out, as it struck his flesh all over, as it was replaced by smoldering coals that set his skin on fire. His nose and ears bled, his vision fogged, and still he refused to give in. If this was all he could do to shelter the others then so be it.

"_Do-something-you-bastard!" _Jeinken ripped the tags from around Toombs's neck and held them up to his face to see them properly. "Where the hell did you get these? Answer me, Toombs!"

Laughing his evil, demented laugh, he hacked up his last bit of saliva and said quietly, "Fuck you."

Jeinken kneed Toombs hard in the back to knock him onto his stomach and stepped on the hook, pressing it further into Toombs's chest. One of the other guards kicked at Toombs's newly healed rib, asking, "Do we kill him?"

"No, he'll die from blood loss in a few hours. Just dangle him so everyone can see him. When he's had it, cut him loose and feed him to the Hounds." The guards secured Toombs's wrists above him to a bar and chained a neck collar to him. On the same wire Quenn had dangled from they lowered him down into the caverns, blood dripping freely from his countless wounds. Unable to sag his head onto his chest for the smallest amount of relief, Toombs leaned it slightly to the left. He couldn't feel much of anything anymore. Half-heartedly he wished that something or someone would pass by and end his suffering, but it was the thought of Nyah, Dack, and-dare he use the word for all its meaning?-his family was the one thing that kept him sane, awake, alive.

Quenn came by to jeer at him with his cronies and aimed a crossbow's jagged metal arrow at the hook Cyrus had left him.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you Quenn," said Dack from the caverns within.

"Back off Dackgart."

"No, you back off," said Spence, appearing to Quenn's right. Jim and Archer came from the left. Dack advanced, fangs bared. "I'll count to one, and then your asses better be somewhere else."

Quenn scrambled.

Dack came as far out onto the ledge as was possible and knelt down, though he was still a good twenty feet away. He smiled sympathetically. "Hey, Kotay."

"Hey," Toombs replied weakly.

"We didn't hear you screaming, so we assumed that you were okay-"

"They went all out on me, Dack. I'm dyin' here. I dunno how much blood I lost already, but it's 'nough to do damage."

"We'll get Iligad-"

"No, they're watchin' me up there. I don' want 'em seein' any of you use your abilities for me. They'd shoot you, y'know that? They're just waitin' for it to happen."

"I'll think of something, Kotay," Dack vowed. "God knows we need you to get out of this hell hole. Nyah needs you. I don't want her living here forever, damn it."

"Where is she?"

"She's with Cyrus, crying her eyes out. I didn't want her to come see you-in case you were-"

"Like this," Toombs finished. His parched, locked throat swelled with emotion. "Hey, Dack, I want you to do me a favor; whichever way things go, if I make it through-or not, see that they get out of here, okay? You can make it to the hanger, I know it. I don' want you dyin' here. I want you to see that waterfall."

"You can't give up like that, Konner. We're not going to sit here; we're going to help but we can't do that if you've already played all your cards. You have no right doing this to us. And what about Nyah? You know she feels for you, right? If you let go you might as well have let that guard rape her."

"Dack, please, I can' do nothin' 'bout that. I'm bleedin'-bleedin' to death. There's not a damn thing I can do for any of you now. You're just gonna have to find a way out alone."

"You aren't listening, are you, dumb-ass? We-_I'm_ going to save you. You, Konner Toombs, are a part of my family and I'll give my dying breath to keep you alive."

"_Feeding time!_"

Dack turned to the others. "Keep 'em off of Kotay! Whatever it takes, keep them away!"

"Dack no, it's not worth it-"

"Here they come!"

The Hounds had decreased in numbers since Toombs's arrival, but there were still enough to keep the others busy. Their lust for eating was much stranger with the scent of Toombs's blood heavy on the air. He was helpless to the situation, able to move his legs, but only slightly due to his numbness. Jim shot a Hound out of midair as it lunged hungrily for Toombs. Another was locked in hand-on-teeth combat with Spence who distracted it from its goal. All Hounds had their sights on Toombs, completely ignoring the others until they intervened.

"We've got 'em on the run, boys!" Dack whooped.

"Dack!" hollered Archer.

One Hound perched on the ledge half a story above Toombs, licking its scaly lips with intent red eyes. Toombs gulped, causing himself great pain to find Dack. He had sunk into a complete animal crouch with all of his animalistic features present.

"Dack," said Toombs slowly, "don't do it."

Throwing him a wink, Dack arched his back like a great feline.

"Dack, no-don' you fucking do it-_no!_"

The Hound and Dack pounced at the same time. Teeth met flesh and the Hound latched onto Dack with its jaws. Dack beat a clawed fist into the Hound's eye socket and still connected, they fell.

"Dack!"

Toombs was paralyzed with horror. His last words to Dack crossed his mind along with the look he had given Toombs. It couldn't have just happened. There was no way he was-

"Dack!"

Jim flew down the staircase, out of sight. Toombs heard him taking the stairs four at a time on the way down to find out what had become of Dack. The sound of rushed footsteps halted.

"Jim, is he okay? Is he alive?"

Silence…and then-"McLeese got him! He's okay!"

Toombs breathed a sign of shaky relief before the caverns were plunged into complete darkness. The guards swore high above him and the inmates hooted. Toombs felt extremely venerable. "Spence, Archer, you still there?"

"We're here, Toombs," Spence called to him.

Toombs heard boots pounding on the rock before something grabbed his jacket. He fought back, forcing movement back onto his legs to kick his opponent.

"Toombs, quit it, it's Iligad!"

"What the hell-"

"Cyrus cut the power lines. The cycle is open and it's time for us to leave. We're all coming. Now hold still." Iligad slapped a hand over Toombs's mouth, locked his legs around the wire, and ran the other hand over Toombs's wounds. The searing cuts healed and life returned to Toombs's body. "Break free and meet me at the stairs to the deck. We'll rush them while it's still dark. We're busting out of here."


	8. Chapter 8: Outbreak and Ash

Iligad released Toombs and swung off into space. Toombs knew what was needed to trigger his ability; the sound of her voice. "Nyah!" he cried for the entity of the caverns to hear. "_Nyah!_"

And from within the caverns he heard her sweet voice call his name. His nostrils flared, muscles tensed, and he slit the chains that held him in half. The neck restraint snapped as if it were a twig over his knee. He lit a fire ball in his palm to light the way to ledge. The distance was easily coverable; it just required a little momentum. He built up enough swing to drop onto the ledge and propelled himself out to it, landing on both feet with an entire new surge of energy. In the light cast by his fire he saw that Cyrus, Spence, Archer, and Veno were already present and prepared for battle. Iligad and Jim climbed the staircase to them, followed by McLeese and Dack who appeared almost completely unscathed. Lastly Nyah appeared behind Cyrus, eyes puffy and red. Toombs slapped Dack viciously. "Ass_hole!_ That was the stupidest thing I've ever seen, are you out of your damn mind?"

"Piss off at me later, Kotay. We need a plan now."

"Okay, you want a plan, well this is all I've got on short notice; we'll rush 'em, take 'em out and raise the deck to the surface. The sun should be about three hours behind us and the night an hour ahead. It's almost thirty kilometers to the hanger with rough-ass terrain. We'll be runnin' like hell, can you handle it?"

There was a ripple of agreement.

"Then let's do it. Weapons out and give 'em hell. Who's got my chains?" Nyah held out his chains silently. He took them from her, almost whispering, "Stick close, baby."

He led the way, sprinting madly up the stairs to the deck. The metal barred door caved in with a ram from his shoulder and he went loose on a fiery rampage. Dack flew over him, ripping into a guard's intestines. Cyrus drove one of his hooks upwards into another guard's jaw. Spence and Iligad tackled a third while McLeese grated a fourth's arm into piece of jigsaw puzzle. Nyah did a full on split, flipping a guard over her only to spill his guts from his tailbone side with a flick of her knives. Toombs spied Jeinken cowering in the corner and he approached him, weaving an icicle. He spared no words for the warden, cleaving his skull in half. He reclaimed his tags from around Jeinken's neck and spat on the corpse. "That's the last of 'em," he announced.

A loud series of roars interrupted them. McLeese sniffed the air. "The Hounds are coming, take the deck up, hurry!"

"And what are you going to do?" Cyrus asked.

McLeese barred the doorway to the caverns. "I'm staying. Crematoria will always house a slam and new faces will always come my way. I'll help those who deserve better fates; it's what I do and what I was born for."

Iligad took a step away from the others. "Then I'm staying with you. We're a team, Brentan."

"They'll need you," said McLeese, nodding at Toombs and Dack. He branched himself to face the Hounds. "They're coming, go!"

Toombs nodded to him. "Thank you—for everything."

McLeese grinned. "I can't watch your ass anymore, Toombs. You have to watch theirs, especially my little girl's. C'mere, Nyah."

Nyah embraced McLeese tearily. He brushed away one tear with his thumb as she asked him, "Are you sure?"

"It's what I'm made for, child. I've lived for many lifetimes in this slam and so I'll continue to. This is what I chose. Now go."

"Archer, take us up," said Cyrus, waving to McLeese.

Dack swallowed hard at the good bye. Archer switched a liver and the deck rose, blocking out McLeese. The blinds opened up to reveal a barren and desolate rock land untouched by the melting sun, for now. Toombs found it difficult to believe that it had been almost five months since he'd been above g round, but buried the thought when he remembered that Dack had never even seen the surface of his own home planet.

"Hell, if this is what every planet looks like I think I'd rather go back down," he said aloud.

"Travel light, weapons, rope, water, that's it," Toombs ordered.

'There are other things we could use though," Cyrus objected.

"This is _my _territory now, Cyrus," Toombs reminded. "Do as I tell you or die, that's how it works. Are you ready?"

"Ready," replied eight voices.

"Jim, stick with Veno. Nyah, with me. Dack, you stay up front. Spence, you and Archer keep Iligad in between you. Cyrus, watch our sides. This is it."

The race of his life began to outrun the sun.

The temperature caught them off guard. From being exposed to smoke and heat for such an extended period of time, the sudden temperature drop stung their lungs. Sweat actually froze in place on their skin, their breath rose in steam above them. Toombs and Dack were neck and neck, tearing across the terrain with Nyah only feet behind them. Jim had to call them to a halt constantly for Iligad's sake. The fifth time this happened Toombs used one of Nyah's curved daggers to slice open a main artery on his arm, insisting that Iligad use it for energy. Afterwards their pace quickened, but the air around them dropped by a wide margin. Despite the desperation burning within them at which they ran, the cold proved to be too much after a half hour of ceaseless sprinting over jagged rocks and distant lava tubes.

Dack placed his fists on his knees for support, gasping for air. Cyrus leaned an arm against a boulder, taking his breath in agonizing chokes. Archer drew his arms in tight to his body, shivering. Nyah dropped to her knees and nearly kissed the ground in an effort to steady her heart rate.

'We have to wait out the cold, "Dack breathed. "We risk hypothermia if we keep going because it's only going to get colder and we're going to sweat more. And look up ahead, it's _snowing_."

Toombs grasped Nyah's shoulder. "We don' have time to stop. We either run in the cold or not at all. Riddick's group was just ahead of the sun and look how many of them made it."

"Running at this pace in this weather is suicide, Toombs," Spence reasoned.

"For us, but maybe not for him," Cyrus muttered under his shortened breath.

"Shut up, Cyrus, I hear something," said Dack, perking his head up in alarm. He looked to the west, the direction from whence they had come. "Oh, shit. There's Hounds on the loose and they've picked up our trail. They're about two miles behind us and I hear five sets of paws."

"But who set 'em loose?" Toombs questioned.

Dack's teeth flashed through his frowning lips. "It's Quenn and he's got at least twenty-five other cons with him."

"There, now you see, if we stay here they'll catch up to us at the same time the mild temperature does," Toombs calculated. "We've got to move now or we won't make it."

Cyrus once again flipped him the middle finger. "It-is-fucking-_below_-zero!"

Toombs punched his fist into Cyrus' thigh, emitting a blazing heat into him. "That should keep you going for another few kilometers, now get your ass moving. Who's next?"

"Kotay, you're using up a lot of energy-"Dack began to protest but Toombs cut him off impatiently and brought Nyah to her feet.

"C'mon, baby, we've gotta keep goin'. Get up."

"I'm starting to lose feeling in my legs, Toombs."

Toombs ran his hands up and down Nyah's legs and arms, spreading warmth to her core. "Let's go."

They ran with a new spring in their step onward into the night. This time Dack strayed towards the rear to keep sound of their pursuers. They entered an ash cloud that proved to be a double edged sword. The cloud provided them with warmth but also made it difficult to see and harder to breathe. Dack slowed them at the sound of a growl. "There's two of 'em and they're close," he concluded. "Back to back, be ready!"

Placing Iligad at the center of the defensive circle they formed, the others backed each other, drawing their weapons. Cyrus loaded tow hooks into his crossbow with the fervor of a man down to his last bullet.

"Steady," Toombs eased.

"Here they come."

Toombs heard a whoosh of air and tackled Cyrus milliseconds before scaled claws ripped at them. Archer blocked one of the beast's fangs with his staff and Dack leapt upon it, tearing at the exposed flesh when the scales stood up on end. Nyah rolled under it and slashed its belly, turning over once more to avoid the smoking guts that spilled out. Spence used his two arm saws to slice the beast's head clean off.

Iligad inhaled the scent of blood and gore and wrinkled his nose. "Damn, that smells. The others will pick up the scent. We'd better keep moving."

"Wait, where's Archer?"

"He was right next to m-_aargh!_"

Jim screamed as a second Hellhound towed him back into the cloud of ash. Instinctively Toombs plunged his hand into his belt for his newly added ray gun and fired off two shots at the jaws that were fastened around Jim's leg. The Hound dropped dead, releasing Jim who Iligad rushed to help.

"It tore my damn leg off!" Jim wailed.

"Your leg's still there, just sit still, damn it!"

Dack looked to the west, taking a defensive stance. "Something's coming. Be ready!"

Toombs unwound his chains and Cyrus notched another hook. Out of the ash cloud came Archer, looking over his shoulder, terrified. "Hide, they're coming! Everyone hide!"

Toombs and Nyah took shelter behind a curved rock slab, watching the enemy direction. Dack positioned himself high up on a vertical jagged piece and Spence lugged Jim under a crevice while Iligad absorbed the remaining pain. Cyrus was lost from sight and Archer and Veno crouched behind a similar shelter to Toombs and Nyah's. The ash fell silently, nestling in Toombs's hair. He watched Quenn and the other convicts descend into the cloud, packed in tightly and scanning everything at eye level for their quarry.

"Wait for it," said Toombs. "Closer, closer…"

Quenn came to a stop and switched his aim with a stolen guard shotgun to the sky several feet off from Dack. Cyrus burst out of the ash underneath them.

"Now!"

Both sides met in a melee. Two cons were felled instantly by Toombs and Dack. Toombs's side gained the upper hand, disarming over half the guns and keeping into close contact so that they were unable to use the other half. Veno and Iligad battled together side by side, Iligad being the eyes and Veno the technique. Archer spun his staff in complete three hundred and sixty degree rotations so that it was a blur to his enemy, then he'd jab it in with a quick thrust to the gut. Spence attached his saws to his arms by its rope straps and made sweeping motions to cut through the offensive lines. When not using the slingshot to launch razor sharp missiles, Jim wielded it the other way around by digging the two fork staves into the enemy. No con dared to do hand on hand combat with Dack and raced over to a new opponent with him hard on their heels. Cyrus had abandoned the use of his actual crossbow and switched to brandishing his hooks as three-edged daggers. No matter which way the battle leaned Toombs could never get in close with Quenn. His eyes were everywhere at once, wary of the cons, watching for Nyah, and protecting his family. Several feet away three cons had gained up on Spence and delivered him a vicious knock to the head.

"Nyah!"

Toombs hooked arms with her and launched her over his shoulder backwards into the cons. She made a hook left and uppercut right leaving one con. Jim came from behind and whacked his slingshot into the con's nose where Nyah finished him with a slice to his groin.

Then an eerie silence fell upon Toombs's ears. There was Quenn, loading his ray launcher with a desperately evil sneer written on his face. He wasn't looking at Toombs; he was looking at Nyah whose back was exposed to him. As it was in Toombs's nightmare, Quenn was going to kill Nyah and Toombs didn't have time to stop him…

But he didn't need to stop him; he just needed to get Nyah out of the way. His legs were carrying him to her, his arms pumping madly, cutting patterns into the ash cloud. He launched off from the ground, colliding with Nyah's side. She hit the rock surface hard and Toombs crouched over her, preparing to take the brunt of Quenn's attack.

The ray launcher struck true. Toombs was blasted backwards and smashed into a boulder wall, bleeding from a gaping wound in his lower abdomen. Quenn advanced on him, reloading. Toombs panted heavily, unable to move from fire in his body. He began to bleed from his nose and ears.

"Get up, Toombs!" Cyrus called from somewhere to his right. "Get up you son of a bitch!"

Nostrils flaring, Toombs pulled one leg in and pushed his back against the boulder. He staggered, clasping his wound shut with one hand.

"Kotay, get out of there!" Dack roared at him.

Toombs dropped to one knee, bow bleeding from between his teeth. His arm rested against the boulder for support. "Nyah," he whispered. A shadow impended upon him and from behind it he saw the flash of the gun.

"_NO!_"

Frozen in horror, Toombs watched Cyrus buckle with his eyes wide in shock at the hole in his stomach. At eye level he and Toombs stared at each other. It took him an age to fall, mouthing Toombs's name with no sound as his body crashed onto the ash bed. Toombs crawled to him on his stomach and seizing his shoulders, shook him. "Cyrus, wake up."

**Did anyone see that one coming? Nearly killed me to do it, but for reasons of my own it had to be done. Hope it wasn't too mushy or sentimental for anyone. **

Though his eyes were still wide open Cyrus moved no more, his skin cold to the touch. "Cyrus! You fucking wake up, you stupid bastard!" Toombs felt sick to his stomach, lowering his forehead to touch Cyrus's.

"Toombs, behind you!"

A Hound, a demon coming for Cyrus's body and it would kill Toombs's to get to him. Toombs found unknown energy within himself and rose, spreading himself out as a shield to protect Cyrus's soulless body. A deep, agonized scream was born in his chest and the monster in him broke free. Fire and ice consumed him and he bulldozed into the Hound, clouting his way completely through the stomach, splitting it in two halves. Blood splattered his face and he gulped in the salty copper scent.

In an instant Nyah had her arms around him, sobbing.

"He's—dead," Toombs choked, unable to avert his eyes from the body of his defender. "I saw the lights leave his eyes. He just stood right over me."

Iligad tended to his wound, but Toombs didn't want any help. How insulting was it that Iligad could save him and not Cyrus? The man who was brave enough to put aside all feelings of jealousy and hate and pull through one last time for Toombs was now gone. The man who had formed the band of convicts into what could be called a family, who had been shunned and disrespected upon Toombs's arrival, who had raised Dack, who had broken half of Nyah's heart, who was now and forever dead.


	9. Chapter 9: Waterfall

"We have to move Toombs," Iligad insisted.

"Not without the body," Toombs argued. "I'll carry him."

"No, we need you up front leading. I'll carry him," said Dack, hoisting his lifeless father figure onto his shoulders.

Toombs wrapped his hand in Nyah's. "C'mon, on your feet, baby."

They plunged on into the cloud, tears running fresh at the loss of their leader. Toombs had trouble containing it all at once; the night was ahead of them and the sun behind; Cyrus was dead, there were still Hounds on their tail, and Quenn was racing them to the hanger. In moments the ash was behind them and they could see Quenn and his seven remaining cronies grappling their way over the rocky outcrop. Toombs pointed off to the right. "Go around them when I slow them down. Keep right on until you reach the hanger. The guard's ship should still be there. Archer, get the ship started and wait for me. I'll take care of Quenn." When no one moved Toombs lit his signaling arm alight. "Go now, damn it!"

Jim directed the group off in the new direction with Spence and Archer close behind. Veno lent aid to Iligad whose energy had drained again and Dack brought up the rear. "You'll be right behind us, right Kotay? Right behind us?"

"On your ass," Toombs confirmed. "Now move Dack."

Nyah hadn't obeyed, but kept firmly in place. Her daggers were sheathed and she hugged herself, a solitary figure sprinkled with ash and snow. Fresh tears streamed down her face which she took no time to brush away.

"Baby, you gotta follow the others. We don' have a lotta time here."

"You said you'd never leave me," she sobbed. "And you'd only say that for one reason, Konner. Tell me that reason."

Fuck. If he told her now, just when he needed her to go on and leave him behind, she'd never walk away. For the reason that she asked for, he couldn't tell her, he couldn't reveal anything. He was doing this all for her and Dack and the others which would be for nothing if he spoke the three words. His heart shattered in his breast as he spoke the lie.

"We're family, but that's all we'll ever be, Nyah. We had a deal; you'd watch my ass and I'd get you off this rock. Well, there you have it; the hanger's up ahead and I'm holding off Quenn. We're even, now you _have_ to go. My job is to protect you, which is only something I can do for you and the others if you follow them. Turn around, run, and don't look back."

"That's it? That's the reason?"

The pieces to his heart burnt in the fires of his lies. "Yes."

Nyah marched up to him and put all of her strength into the most powerful blow she could pack. Toombs was certain that she knocked some of his teeth out. "Bullshit!" she spat. "That's bullshit! You don't believe that and you know it!"

Finally, she had him. Toombs shook his head. "No, I guess not." He seized her in his firm, protective arms and kissed her mouth fiercely. She responded by grabbing two fistfuls of his hair and bringing herself closer. Both knew the situation at stake and forced themselves to break apart. Nyah intertwined her hand in his. "You promised," she reminded him. "I'm not going anywhere."

The two of them raced after Quenn over the perilous Creamtorian surface. In moments they were mere meters behind the opposing convicts and Nyah drew her daggers, ready for the final action that she would not have to face alone. Toombs lassoed his chains and launched them out, catching two cons with it. Nyah swept in and dealt them both swift cuts to their throats.

Six left.

Quenn rounded on them and opened fire. Toombs and Nyah dropped onto their stomachs, covering their heads with their arms. A body dropped between them with a rock embedded deep in his skull.

Jim.

Dack led the charge with vicious war cries rising from the enraged imprisoned. Spence and Veno pinned a con and beat the life out of him with their bare hands. Dack ripped a con's ear from his head with his teeth before diving in for the neck. He surfaced with blood dripping in red waterfalls from his teeth. Nyah dipped in and up, parting one of the men with his personal belongings. Toombs extended the form of his body which engulfed Quenn's last follower as an insane ghost form. While the con fought blindly at the wisp of smoke Toombs silenced him by carving his heart out with his knuckle bone. Quenn let off a round of his rapid fire ray at Toombs but the rays bounded off in all directions, blocked by Archer's force field. Toombs reeled Quenn in with the chains secured around his throat. Cyrus's murderer pleaded for his life, but his begging fell on deaf ears. Toombs tightened the metal links and fed them fire. They sizzled against Quenn's delicate skin and in one rapid motion the heated metal sliced through Quenn's neck. The headless corpse crumpled at Toombs's feet. The severed head rolled off to the side and suddenly rows of sharp objects punctured Toombs's leg. The dangerously jagged rocks cut at his chest as the one of the remaining Hellhounds dragged him back to finish him off in safety. Toombs's family hurtled their weapons, roaring at the demon.

Sensing that it was about to be deprived of a meal, the Hound plunged its jaws into Toombs's back, catching a strip of skin and leather jacket on its teeth. Iron claws shredded the flesh that had moments ago been whole and healed from its last beating. Toombs screamed, throwing his hands up in front of his face to defend it against the next onslaught as the Hound flipped him over and took its teeth to his stomach. Toombs had no sounds left to spare while watching his intestines uncoil and slither around his exposed inner stomach.

It was over in seconds. Dack stood drenched in the Hound's blood, stringy flesh and bubbling stomach acids. He took Toombs's face in his scarlet stained hands. "Stick with me Konner. Don't you fall asleep. Stay with me. Iligad, get over here!"

Nyah pressed her lips to Toombs's hand and her mouth formed his name lovingly. Toombs heard mixed shouts on all sides, but they were a jumbled mess in his head. Words were indistinguishable and all feeling was gone from his body. His eyes clouded over and he drifted. It was bliss to not feel the fervor of battle or the pains of his mortal body, but he ached for Nyah, for her touch just once more before he died.

The guilt that he felt was absolute. He had never told her anything, only kissed her. He'd never thanked Dack or Jim, or _anyone_ for anything. He hadn't even seen them to the hanger. Nyah had granted him the second chance that Riddick believed that he didn't deserve, which turned out to be an extra four and a half months in a burning hellhole, but it was with the few and only individuals he had ever loved. Now that he knew the meaning of the word it all ended. But at the close of his life he had achieved in turning the tables and make meaning in the lives of the people that mattered, which was all that he could ask for.

* * *

"I'd appreciate it if you'd sit down and shut up Dack. It's been about two decades since I've flown and I need to concentrate so that I don't cross into the wrong shipping lane. Sound good to you?"

He felt a hand caressing his scar soothingly. HE tested his right hand experimentally and his knuckle rubbed against the same sweet warmth.

"He's awake, Dack."

The music to his ears brought him back into full consciousness. His eyelids drew back and Nyah's face came into full focus. His mouth stretched to grant her his smile. "Hey, baby."

"Hey. How do you feel?"

"Alive," Toombs avowed. "Why is that?"

Nyah nodded to the recline chair beside her where Iligad's limp form lay, motionless. Her lip trembled as she spoke. "He took it all-every wound you had and it-it was too much. McLeese must have known that he could absorb all that energy, but he also probably figured that it would kill him, which is why he never let him try. But he did anyway and he told me to tell you to keep breathing, to hold on."

It was clear now. Iligad extended beyond his limits and beyond the boundaries of his powers to reverse the fates of himself and Toombs. In the farthest seat back Cyrus lay with his hands folded across his chest.

Toombs swallowed. "Anyone else?"

"No, everyone's here. Archer's taking us to Okrum; we're going home."

"Just us two? Where'll the others go?"

Dack appeared behind Nyah. "We're staying right with you, Kotay, s'long as there's a waterfall on your planet."

"There's lots of 'em, Dack. Okrum is a forest planet." Toombs secured an arm around Nyah's waist to steady himself and scanned the vast region of space.

"Damn," Dack breathed in awe at the ever-extending stars and blackness.

Toombs nodded to himself, agreeing. "Yeah, sure is a sight to see, ain't it?" Nyah nestled herself in close to him and laid her head against the book between his neck and shoulder.

******************

Toombs never considered himself to be one to settle down, but Okrum seemed as good of a place as any other. Their landing was bittersweet; none of the natives saw their presence as anything out of the ordinary and for the most part they blended in, but were in immediate search of someone to help them in preparations for a burial service. The city was larger than some, but hundreds of times smaller than Helion Prime. The cremation cost was cheaper than a full body burial, so Toombs willingly took up on the offer, paying for it with the fair amount of money left in the emergency kit aboard the stolen guard ship. He didn't allow Nyah to be present for the actual burning of the bodies, but also didn't deny her the final parting with their ashes. Both were borne to the mountaintop overlooking their new home, built to house the entire family and more for the bright future. At the ceremony Dack strung Cyrus and Iligad's dog tags around their narrow grave plates. He rested his head against Cyrus's grave, but not once did he let a tear slip. Jim, Spence, Archer, and Veno paid their respects to each grave in turn, murmuring words of thanks and blessings with the hopes that the phrases would catch on the wind and carry to their corresponding souls that rested among the stars. Far below and to the south a celebration was being held for the planet's Independence Day. Ironic though it was to have funerals on such a day that they should be joining in the celebration, Toombs felt that the music drifting up to the peak was fitting; a compensation for the release of troubled and harsh lives. This was a true and fitting end to Cyrus and Iligad's lives and at last they were lain to rest.

* * *

"There's your waterfall, Dack," Toombs proclaimed, pointing straight down to the springs many feet below them. Dack whistled and stuck his hand into the rushing water with the broadest grin on his face. "I bet I could jump it," he said eagerly.

"You probably could, but I'm not going to bet on that," said Toombs.

"Why?" Dack pouted. "You faced every evil in this galaxy and the next but you won't jump a damn waterfall. Some hero you are, you coward."

He had touched a nerve and Toombs tore away his favored and mended leather jacket, then pulled his gray tunic up over his head. Beside him Dack was preparing himself for the dive by removing his own shirt but keeping his trousers on like Toombs as well as his shoes. Toombs felt the cold metal tags clink together against his bare chest with two added tags; one for Cyrus and the other for Iligad. He was measuring his footing when Spence and Veno came up the hill behind them. Enclosed in their own private getaway the family chose this particular day to spend lunging and picnicking under the normal Okromun sun. Carrying the food in a basket ahead of the others, Spence and Veno set their burdens down and Spence elbowed Veno playfully. "Ha, told you, didn't I? They're going to jump. What did he say to make you do it Toombs?"

"That's none of your business, but if you say anything else I'll throw you in," Toombs threatened, stretching his calves,

Archer and his new wife Moira came hand in hand next with Jim and Nyah bringing up the rear. Nyah shook her head at the sight that greeted her and shifted the boy on her hip to the opposite one.

"You'll get hurt, Konner, you know you will."

"I prefer physical to mental pain," Toombs told her. "Besides, he called me a coward." Toombs kissed Nyah and ruffled the boys' curled brown hair affectionately, touching his lip to his head.

"You know Toombs, you're so lucky that the boy looks like his mum," commented Spence. Toombs leapt for him, hooked his powerful arms around Spence's waist, and hurtled him out into space. Spence cursed at Toombs the entire way down and landed with a shattering splash. Toombs and Dack watched him surface and his hand shot up.

"He's flipping you off, Kotay," Dack concluded, squinting.

"He had it coming." Toombs and Dack took their positions ten feet from the base of the waterfall. Nyah called to Toombs urgently.

"Please be careful."

Toombs winked at her. "Always am, baby."

The two propelled themselves forward, soaring, flying…falling, splashing. The cool water was refreshing combined with a pleasant heat Toombs added to it. HE surfaced and rubbed at his eyes, tossing his short curls back. From where he had come up he could see that he had beat Dack by at least two feet. To the left Spence was heaving himself onto the back, still swearing. Dack came up, saw the outcome, and frowned.

"I want a rematch."

'"It's going to take at least twenty minutes to hike back up that hill, Dack," Toombs pointed out.

Dack grinned devilishly. "Race you."

Toombs rolled his eyes, then cast them upward. Nyah was helping to wave the tiny fist of their son, Cyrus. Toombs raised his hand in acknowledgement to his boy and clambered out of the pool to beat Dack back up to the top. His estimated time of twenty minutes was cut into four and he and Dack repositioned themselves for round two. Jim counted them off and they launched themselves free of all restraint, all boundaries and fell into the sparkling, sovereign embrace of the waterfall.

**And Toombs's story comes to a close. A sequel might be in the making, but for now I'm going to make short stories about the convicts' lives before Crematoria. Reviews are welcome! Hope you enjoyed, I certainly had a wonderful time writing this and it only took me about 2 months. Later!**


End file.
